Harry's Spring Break in Southern California
by vanilla-chk
Summary: Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione visit the island of Coronado (which is an actual island, I live there) off San Diego. R/H, H/G. Well-written, and- what's that? A plot? O, okay.READ ME! You know you want to! Cute and funny.
1. The letter

Vacation in California!!!  
  
  
  
¤*~Disclaimer~*¤ ¤*~I know you all know I do not own these characters!!!~*¤  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wait... So you think that if he were a girl he would like him?" mused Ron.  
  
It was the average morning for Harry...Hermione and Ron were arguing once again about some off-the-wall-subject, Hermione's hair probably had syrup in it thanks to Dobby's generous servings for the trio, and Harry was more focused on what he would do over the spring vacation (which started tomorrow) than his huge pile of pancakes.  
  
Suddenly the hall blew up in a raucous of hooting and screeching. It was mail time. Hedwig flitted gracefully over to Harry and dropped a pink, lightly scented envelope right into the thick syrup of his pancakes.  
  
"HEDWIG! You know better than to do that!"  
  
Hedwig hooted angrily.  
  
"What? What did I do?!" He was very perturbed about his ruined letter.  
  
Hedwig nodded to Harry's plate of food.  
  
"Oh my gosh...I forgot to feed you last night! I'm so sorry!" Harry pulled a bag of owl feed and handed the entire bag to Hedwig.  
  
Hedwig hooted something that would have sounded like a human 'humph' and flew away.  
  
"Gees, someone's huffy this morning!" Harry remarked, then returned his gaze to the pink letter, which was now sinking into the syrup like quicksand.  
  
He quickly pulled it out and wiped it off onto a napkin. He gingerly opened it, not wanting to rip the envelope. He had always had some weird thing about not ripping the envelope. He pulled out a beautiful painting, which had been lightened by a Xerox machine and had evidently been written on. This too was also lightly scented. These were all trademarks of Harry's pen pal, Calista. She lived in Coronado, an island off of San Diego. Harry opened up the letter and began to read:  
  
Hola chico!  
  
Hey, next week is your spring break, right? Well, guess what? My mom bought 4 plane tickets for you guys to fly over here and visit me for spring break! You'll fly with English-American Airlines to the San Diego airport, and I'll meet you at 9:00AM at Terminal 4, alright? Oh gosh I'm so excited to finally see you! So you, Ron and Hermione can fly over here tomorrow, along with someone of your choice (there are 4 tickets). Alrighty?  
  
Love,  
  
Calista Marie Jones  
  
Harry turned the envelope over onto the table and 4 plane tickets fell out onto his napkin.  
  
"Ron! Hermione! Ron!! Hermione!! Ron!!! Hermione!!!" he shouted excitedly.  
  
"WHAT?!" they both responded in unison, impatiently turning to look at him. He was waving the letter around like a madman.  
  
Hermione snatched it from his hand and began to read. About 10 seconds later she looked up at Harry, who had a huge smile spread across his face. She screamed and started jumping up and down. The entire hall turned to stare at her. Noticing this she composed herself, smoothed her robes, and sat down gracefully.  
  
"Oh my god Harry, this is so cool!" she said, leaning towards him in a hushed voice, glancing around the room.  
  
"I know!" he responded in the same manner.  
  
Ron, who was now sufficiently curious, had an exasperated look on his face. He kept glancing back and forth between Harry and Hermione.  
  
"WHAT? Lemme see!" he said, taking the letter from Hermione's hand.  
  
It took him about a minute to get through the letter, but when he looked up he exhibited an entirely opposite reaction than Hermione. With a very cool, calm and collected look on his face, he looked at Harry and asked:  
  
"Whom else are you going to invite?'  
  
'Good question', Harry thought. He looked down the Gryffindor table. He met the eyes of Ginny, who had apparently been staring at him. She quickly looked down at the table. Harry stood up out of his seat and began walking towards her and her friends. Seeing this, she turned bright red and began to hyperventilate. Her palms were leaving steamy prints on the cold surface of the table. 'Why should you be nervous?' she thought, staring at her own plate of pancakes. 'You've changed over these years. Why, you're a young woman. You're thin, curvy, and you actually have a chest. Why should you be nervous when you're so gorgeous?' This last thought calmed her. She slowed her breathing, and wiped her hands on her robes. By now Harry had reached her.  
  
"Hey Ginny." he started. She turned around as if she hadn't known he was coming.  
  
"Hi Harry. What's up?" she was quite impressed with this.  
  
"C'mere." he said, motioning for her to follow him.  
  
She got up out of her seat and caught up with him so that she was walking alongside him.  
  
He put his arm around her back as if to escort her. 'I hope she doesn't mind', Harry thought. As if to read his thoughts, Ginny mentally responded: 'Not at all, handsome'. Of course he didn't know she thought this way, so when they got to the hallway leading to the Great Hall, he let his arm fall to his side. He didn't really have a crush on her, he just thought she was nice and pretty. He looked straight into her eyes. She began to hyperventilate again.  
  
"Ron, Hermione and I are going to San Diego next week, and I'd like you to come with us." he quested. A hopeful smile popped up on his face.  
  
"Sure!" she peeped. "Oh, I'd love to go with you!" A huge smile appeared on her pretty face.  
  
In a bout of extreme happiness, she reached over and gave him a big hug. Wow, he's rock hard! Oh, and those abs! she thought, holding tightly onto his warm robes and pressing her chest against his. He smiled and put his arms around her in return.  
  
Back at the table.........................  
  
"What are they doing over there?" Ron asked to no one in particular. That was his best friend and his little sister. And they were hugging.  
  
"I think it's sweet." said Hermione, a girly smile appearing on her face as she watched them separate and Harry handed Ginny a plane ticket.  
  
"It's disgusting. That's my little sister." he said, his knuckles whitening.  
  
"Ron, Ginny isn't a little girl anymore. She's a beautiful young woman, and I think Harry and Ginny would make an adorable couple.  
  
"Couple? Who said they were a couple?" Ron spat out the last word as if he was talking about spiders.  
  
"No one did, goodness just lay off, Ron!" said Hermione, becoming defensive.  
  
"Hmmph." sounded Ron, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.  
  
By now Harry had walked back to the table.  
  
"What are you doing hugging my sister?!" Ron accused, a fierce look in his eyes.  
  
"All I did was invite her to come with us. She was the one who hugged me first. Anyway, she  
  
isn't just your sister. She's a really nice person." said Harry, staring right back into Ron.  
  
"Would everybody stop saying that?!" shouted Ron, pounding his fist on the table. For the  
  
second time the entire hall was staring at them.  
  
"Mind your own business!" shouted Ron, dismissing the stares of the students.  
  
¤*~ChEcK bAcK tOmOrRoW fOr ChApTeR tWo!!!~*¤ 


	2. Where's Ginny?

Vacation in SoCal : Chapter Two!!!!!  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh for heaven's sake. You're so overprotective. I mean, your little sister gives someone a hug and you're throwing a fit."  
  
Ron seemed to mellow down and relaxed in his seat. "It's just...weird. I've got you alone in the corner with my little sister and Hermione's over here talking about the "cute couple"  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "Couple? What's this about a couple?"  
  
Hermione blushed. She thought it was so cute when he did that. But, of course, if Ron ever found out she had a crush on Harry he would probably kill himself. Hermione shook her hair and raised her chin in an aire of importance.  
  
"We should go pack up our bags. We ARE leaving tomorrow, you know."  
  
"Alright then. C'mon, Ron. We've got some packing to do" Harry "shook his hair" and raised his chin like Hermione. "We ARE leaving tomorrow, you know."  
  
Ron laughed, hopped up out of his seat, and started down the hall with Harry.  
  
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Ginny watched the inseparable trio walk down the hall. Ron ran ahead of the group, and was chased by Harry. Hermione laughed and jogged behind. Ginny sighed. No matter how much she tried, she would never be a part of their "group". Oh, but she was so excited about tomorrow! And how Harry chose HER to come with them! 'What if he likes me?' she thought. 'Ooh, that would be just so cool! No, he probably doesn't, maybe he is just feeling sorry for me', thought Ginny. 'Oh, screw this, you'd better start packing!' Ginny got up out of her seat, but before she could leave her friend Twyla Banks stopped her.  
  
"GINNY! Where are you going? You never told us about what Harry said to you!"  
  
"Oh, that. He asked me to come to San Diego with him for spring break. We're leaving tomorrow." She said, pretending not to care.  
  
Twyla's mouth dropped open, and was mirrored by Kaila, Portia, and Crystina. Then, all at the same time, they screamed, "OHMYGOD!!!"  
  
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Harry turned around. He had heard girls screaming. He knew Ginny must have told her friends. 'Wow', he thought. 'Maybe Ginny DOES have some sort of thing for me. Nah. They are probably just screaming about her coming with us to Coronado'. He dismissed that thought and returned to his dreams of Calista Marie Brown. 'I wonder what she looks like, he thought. I know she has curly blond hair, and blue eyes. She must have an athletic body, since she is a freshman and already in Varsity swimming and water polo. She must have a great complexion if she always talks about how she never wears makeup. Will she like me? I mean, I HAVE been working out just to look good for HER. But I need a tan. There's no sun in England. Oh, I can't wait for tomorrow morning when I see her! That must mean we're leaving after classes today. I can't sit through Snape's class knowing I have THIS to look forward to!' Harry grimaced at the thought of Snape hunching over his table, just waiting for him to make a mistake. Suddenly, Ron's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.  
  
"HEY! Dopey! Wake up!" Apparently Ron had slapped him upside the head.  
  
"What? Hey, where am I?" Harry groggily looked up. Professor Trelawney was peering down at him through her thick glasses. Immediately his nose was greeted by thick incense, and his eyes by the rosy red glow of the candles. 'Oh no!' He thought. 'I must have fallen asleep! But wait a minute... Divinations class is fifth period. What ddid I do during my other four classes? I certainly couldn't have been asleep then, or I couldn't have gotten to this class, could I? What's going on?' thought Harry, panicking.  
  
"I knew it. He's dead. I told everybody he would die, but no one believed me!" Professor Trelawney announced. The entire class turned around to see, most in half - belief. Harry scowled.  
  
"I'M NOT DEAD!" he announced. The students turned back around. This happened every time someone fell asleep in her class.  
  
"Well, you could've been." Professor Trelawney walked back to her desk.  
  
"Ron...what happened? Was I asleep during first, second, third, AND fourth period? I don't remember any."  
  
"You weren't there. You were sleeping on the sofa of the common room until Divinations. Don't you remember? On the way to Prof. Binn's class you told us you were tired and went to the Gryffindor house." said Ron matter-of- factly.  
  
"Really?" asked Harry, eyebrows raised. "Wow."  
  
"Yeah. You dropped on the sofa like a dead man." Ron returned his gaze to his cup of tea.  
  
"You must have been too tired to remember." said Hermione, whirling around to talk to Harry and accidentally knocking over Seamus' cup of tea with her thick hair.  
  
"Hey! Oh well, it was pointless anyway." said Seamus dejectedly, turning back around to face Dean Thomas.  
  
"I can't sit through this class and through the next two knowing I'm going to Coronado in a matter of hours. Let's go back to the common room." said Harry, shifting in his seat.  
  
"Can we, Hermione? Please can we?" pleaded Ron, starting to bounce up and down.  
  
"Oh, alright. I hate this class anyway." said Hermione, standing up and walking out of the room. Nobody made an attempt to stop her.  
  
Ron and Harry exchanged glances, then quickly followed Hermione.  
  
When they had climbed down the ladder and were starting to walk down the hall, Harry had an idea.  
  
"Hey! You know what we can do? Hermione, do you still have that time - jumping necklace?" asked Harry. A very bright light bulb popped up above his head. Harry rolled his eyes, pointed his wand towards the light bulb and said, "Kalorous!" The bulb disappeared. "Isn't that annoying?"  
  
"Yeah, I hate it when that happens. Oh, and I still have that hourglass necklace. What do you need it for?" asked Hermione, although she already had an idea of what he wanted.  
  
"We can jump time to when we are at the airport waiting for our flight!" exclaimed Harry, very proud of his idea.  
  
"Okay." said Hermione. She whispered something to the necklace, which she had pulled out of her pocket. "Everybody touch me." she said, looking at Ron and Harry.  
  
"REALLY? I thought you'd never ask!" exclaimed Ron giddily. He started to advance towards her.  
  
"NOT LIKE THAT, PERVERT!" she yelled, pointing her wand towards him.  
  
Harry gave Ron a weird look, then started laughing.  
  
Hermione frowned, and grabbed both of their hands. "Okay everybody, here we go... one...two...THREE!" At the count of three three the trio began whirling around amazingly fast, and continued to increase in speed. Then, as suddenly as it started, they disappeared from the grounds of Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
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"Hey...I think this the Airport...but where's Ginny?"  
  
Ooh, surprise ending.....CHECK TOMORROW FOR CHAPTER THREE!!!!!!!! 


	3. Trouble at the Airport

Vacation in SoCal : Chapter Three!!!!!  
  
  
  
"Oh, great. Mr. Genius zaps us to the airport, but we left my little sister at school. Nice work." Ron scowled.  
  
  
  
"Oh, shut-up. At least I thought of it. You wouldn't have thought of jumping time if Hermione's hourglass necklace had hit you in the eye." Harry retorted, taking a step towards Hermione and in the process turning his back to Ron.  
  
  
  
"It did." said Ron, a blank look on his face. He rubbed his eye.  
  
  
  
"Harry, could you go back to Hogwarts and get Ginny? It would really be helpful." said Hermione sweetly. He was so cute when he got defensive like that. She was acutely aware that her crush for Harry grew twice as big every time he spoke to her. The way that he looked right into her chestnut eyes with his famous sparkling green ones...  
  
  
  
"Sure, 'Mione. Thank you for asking so POLITELY." Harry looked at Ron when he said the last word. Ron glared back at him. "How do I use your necklace?" he asked Hermione, raising his eyebrows.  
  
  
  
Hermione looked at Ron, the silently motioned Harry to come closer. He did, and she whispered the instructions to him. They both looked at Ron again, and Hermione handed the necklace to Harry. He whispered something in turn to the necklace, and POOF - he was gone.  
  
  
  
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The hall was filled with an orange afternoon glow as Ginny skipped to her sixth period class. Ooo, school was almost through for the day, and when it was, she'd be off in a plane with attractive Harry to a tropical paradise. Everything was coming up roses for Ginny Weasley. Of course, there WOULD be competition... that girl who sent Harry the invitation was almost definitely after him. She could easily take her out, though...George's workout machines had come in handy when she had needed to lift those heavy boxes, they certainly would have strengthened her enough to open-up-a-can-of-whoop ass on some ditzy blonde islander, if the need would ever arise. 'Yeah, that would be sweet', she thought evily. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her arm just above her elbow and yanked her aside. She looked up, shocked. She was just about to let out a high-pitched scream when the hand covered her mouth. It was Harry, looking worried.  
  
  
  
"Sshh!" he took his hand off her mouth and wiped off her spit and lipgloss on his robes. "Really, it's so hard to bring you with us when you keep screaming like that." he said, looking at her. She was shaking.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Harry?" she asked, still reeling. "What are you DOING?" She noticed the hourglass necklace he had around his neck.  
  
  
  
"Me, Ron and Hermione went forward in time to the airport about five minutes ago and, well, we forgot you. I've come back to get you, so...come over here." he said. He walked into a dark corner and whispered something to the necklace. "Hurry, it's going to leave soon!" he said in a hushed voice, looking around the now almost deserted hall. The only person in sight was a seemingly worried and frightened first year, who obviously couldn't find his pet spider. "Spidey! Come here, Spidey! I don't want anyone to step on you!" the poor little child's voice echoed through the almost-empty halls.  
  
  
  
While he was saying this the "spider" - or should I say tarantula - had begun to crawl towards Ginny's foot. Not noticing this, Ginny took a step forward, causing the tarantula to crawl up her leg. Ginny screeched in terror at the poor little beast, and kicked her leg wildly in the air. The spider flew about 3 feet and landed on its back. It immediately righted itself and frantically skittered away. This all happened in about 2 seconds, so Ginny, still in terror, threw herself onto Harry just as they began to whirl with the necklace to the airport.  
  
  
  
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Meanwhile, not all was right with Ron and Hermione.  
  
  
  
"All I'm saying is that if you have to tell secrets, you could at least clue in your other best friend. It's rude." said Ron, nudging the sparkling clean linoleum floors of the London airport with his foot.  
  
  
  
"Well you aren't exactly the most trustworthy person." responded Hermione indignantly.  
  
  
  
Ron looked like he had a million things to say, but he swallowed them and uttered the most reasonable, intelligent thing he had said all day. "Why is it that whenever we are alone together, we end up arguing?"  
  
  
  
"You sounded like Harry when you said that." said Hermione, staring into the air, a dreamy look on her face.  
  
  
  
Ron's face turned red and he stomped on the ground. A nearby table shook. "WHAT IS WITH YOU? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I LIKE YOU?" Ron yelled, exasperated. Hermione gasped. Immediately Ron realized the magnitude of what he had just said and clapped his hand over his mouth.  
  
  
  
Just as Ron was about to stammer an explanation, a sudden gust of air swept the airport. A colorful, swirling cloud appeared just next to them. The cloud melted away, revealing Harry and Ginny. Ron gasped. Ginny had arrived just as she had left - in Harry's arms. Of course it was just because a spider had crawled up her leg and she jumped on Harry in terror, but...how would Ron know that?  
  
  
  
Ron's voice came back, of course. "IF YOU EVER LAY A FINGER ON MY SISTER, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER BREATHE AIR AGAIN!" Screamed Ron, pent-up jealously on Harry and exasperation for Hermione finally coming out.  
  
  
  
WHACK! Ginny slapped Ron's face as hard as she could. "For your information, Harry did not lay a finger on me, I laid a finger on HIM!" she spat out to Ron. Ginny looked at Hermione, who in turn gave Ron an I-can't-believe-what-you-just-said look.  
  
  
  
"Why?' asked Harry to Ron. "Why would you say that?" asked Harry, giving Ron a meaningful look with his sad green eyes. His eyes had been sad ever since what happened at the TriWizard tournament.  
  
  
  
Even Ginny's slap, Hermione's look, and Harry's growing case of depression did not phase Ron.  
  
"Stupid orphan." snapped Ron. Ginny and Hermione gasped. Harry's face paled and he swallowed. Harry slowly turned around and he walked away. Hermione slapped Ron twice as hard as Ginny had slapped him. She looked horrified at what he had just said. "How could you say that to your very best friend?! You know he's depressed! What, do you think that would help him? He loves you like a brother! First you tell him that you will kill him for something he DIDN'T DO, then you call him an orphan?! I mean, I know he is, but...COME ON! You know that's his weak spot!" Hermione growled, then continued. "I thought I knew you, Ronald M. Weasley. But I guess I don't." Hermione turned her heel and walked briskly in the direction that Harry, and later Ginny, had went.  
  
  
  
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Harry rested his forehead on his knees, which he pulled closer to himself. A tear silently slid down his cheek. He kept his mouth tightly closed. He knew if he opened it he would start sobbing, and probably could never stop. This wasn't all because of what Ron said, but what he had said had pushed everything over the top. Things definitely weren't going right for Harry. Every little thing that went wrong seemed to impact him really hard these days, although he tried his best to remain keep a smile on his face. I am a stupid orphan, he thought. Everybody only likes me because I'm supposed to be some kind of superhero. They don't like me because I'm ME, they like me because I'm Harry Potter. The boy who lived. Well, not for long. Didn't you notice how the entire school turned on you so quickly during the TriWizard tournament? They obviously aren't your real friends. Why do you think Hermione and Ron hang around you so much? You know they aren't your real friends, idiot. You're so stupid. Why do you even have Hermione and Ron in the first place? Why are you even ALIVE? You don't deserve to be alive. You killed Cedric. He didn't do anything! You just HAD to drag him into that mess with Voldemort. I hate you! Suddenly a warm hand placed itself on his back. Harry looked up.  
  
  
  
Ginny's pale blue eyes shone down on his face with pity. She smiled, although she saw the tears on his face. Embarrassed, Harry stood up and hastily wiped off his tears with his sleeve. Ginny stepped towards him and enveloped him in a motherly hug. They were standing on an incline so Harry was made short enough to rest his chin on Ginny's shoulder. "It's okay if you cry." said Ginny. She knew he hadn't cried in years, despite the rumors that circulated last year. She felt her shoulder get wet with salty tears. She rubbed his back. She really did love him, no matter how much she protested. She hugged him tighter, and sighed. She loved this position, even if Harry was only there because he was sad. "I know this isn't all because of what Ron said. No matter what you think, you're an amazing person and we really do love you. Not just because you're Harry Potter, but because you're YOU." That was probably the best thing that anyone could ever say to him, and he kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you." he whispered, then broke off. He once again wiped the tears off his face. "Let's go find Ron and Hermione." he said, returning completely back to normal, and took a step forward expectantly, waiting for Ginny to follow. She did, and they both walked towards their prior location. She was surprised at how normal he was acting. 'Why, just a minute ago he was the image of sadness. And now, once again, he's got that quirky little smile on his face.' thought Ginny. She touched a hand to her cheek. 'He kissed me…but only on the cheek. That doesn't mean anything, does it?' They didn't have to walk for long before they found Ron and Hermione. 


	4. Mmm...Starbucks Coffee

Spring Break in SoCal Chapter 4!~*¤  
  
  
  
------A/N - sorry that 3rd chapter was so SAPPY, but I just in that kind of mood. I'm actually embarrassed of it now, I'm not normally that kind of writer. I like it when it's light and funny.  
  
Harry and Ginny found Ron and Hermione sipping in silence out of Starbucks cups outside the famous café. Harry sat down next to Hermione and smiled.  
  
"Whatcha got there?" he asked jovially, seeming completely opposite of the mood that they had last seen him in.  
  
Hermione looked at Harry, surprised at his sudden change of character. "Caramel Frappuchino," she responded. "It's really good. Want some?" She offered him the cup. Obviously he wanted to forget what just happened.  
  
"Sure. Thanks." He said, and took a sip out of her straw. "Hey, this is good! I'm going to go get one." He flashed her another warm smile, then headed off to the nearest Starbucks.  
  
Ron and Hermione watched his shape grow smaller as he moved up in the long line for coffee, and as soon as they were sure he was out of hearing range, they both looked at Ginny.  
  
"What did you SAY?" asked Hermione, a very curious look on her pale English face. She rested one elbow on the round airport table.  
  
Ginny tightened her lips in an aire of importance, then responded, "That's between Harry and me." She looked very pleased with herself.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, come ON. What could be so secret?"  
  
"Exactly." said Ginny. She knew she was confusing him.  
  
Ron and Hermione exchanged puzzled glances, then both returned their gaze to Ginny, who had her arms crossed.  
  
"Wait a minute...are you saying that its 'what' that's bothering him? What is 'what' ?" asked Hermione precociously.  
  
This time it was Ginny that was confused. "Huh?"  
  
"If exactly what could be so secret, then what is the thing that what is bothering him about? You're saying that what is the secret. What is what?" asked Hermione, eyebrows raised at Ginny. "Hmm? What is what?"  
  
"I get it!" said Ron. "What is that thing that I said that Ginny said was exactly what the thing that was so secret." He had a huge smile on his face. "Right, Hermione?"  
  
Hermione had a horrified look on her face. "No more coffee for you, Ron."  
  
"Then I claim his coffee!" exclaimed Ginny, snatching it away from him. She sniffed it. "What flavor is this, anyway?" asked Ginny. "It smells funny."  
  
"White Chocolate Mocha." said Ron, then laughed demonically.  
  
Ginny growled, then shoved the mocha back towards him.  
  
Ron, seeing that Hermione had no idea what was going on, clued her in. "Ginny is allergic to White Chocolate." said Ron, glancing at Ginny very smugly. "I got this flavor on purpose. I had a feeling something like this would happen." He smiled, then took a sip of his coffee. "Go get your own."  
  
Just as he was saying this, Harry returned to the table with two cups. He handed one to Ginny, and gave her a meaningful look. She smiled.  
  
"I heard you guys arguing over here. Ginny, I got you a vanilla frappuchino. Vanilla is your favorite flavor, right?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks!" she said, then took a long sip of it out of her straw. She raised her eyebrows at Harry, and he nodded.  
  
"What is going ON between you two?" asked Hermione, looking back and forth between Ginny and Harry.  
  
"Nothing." They both answered in unison. Harry and Ginny laughed.  
  
"Alright, it's 8:30. We gotta go catch our flight." said Ron peering at a clock that was posted high on the wall adjacent to them.  
  
They all stood up. Hermione brushed off her silky blue skirt, and straightened her necklace. Ginny ran her hands through her fiery red hair. Ron walked ahead of the rest down a carpeted blue hallway. They had been walking in silence for about 6 minutes when they finally arrived at the port for Southwest Airlines. They came to the point where they would have to run their bags through the x-ray machine. Harry went first, and placed his bags down onto the moving black tread. As it passed through the rubber flaps, one of the young women working at the machine seemed to recognize him. She pulled a small yellow notebook out of her blue flight jacket, and scribbled something down on it. She glanced at her oblivious co-worker and handed the yellow note to Harry. Looking surprised, he read the note.  
  
hey is your name harry potter? my little sister is crazy about you  
  
He looked up from the note at the smiling Arabic girl, and nodded. She beamed, and pulled a small, expensive-looking silver camera out of the inside pocket of her jacket. Harry smiled, and she snapped a quick shot. She glanced back at her co-worker, who was staring at the wall and blowing spit bubbles. The new photo slid out of the bottom of the camera, and as soon as it developed Harry autographed it with the olive-skinned girl's Sharpie pen. After all of their bags (including minimized books, brooms, and various other items) came out the back end of the machine, the three fifteen-year-olds and the fourteen-year-old headed for the gateway to the plane. 


	5. And we discover Harry is rather ticklish...

Spring Break in SoCal Chapter 5!~*¤  
  
  
  
Ginny skipped ahead of the other three and began to wildly twirl in circles, swinging her carry-on bags around in the air. "We're going to San Diego! Woooooooooo!" she yelled happily, attracting the curious stares of the other passengers awaiting the flight. Ron's cheeks flushed as red as his hair. He dashed up to where Ginny was now dancing and caught her in mid- swing. "Shut-UP!" he hissed, and held her forearm in a death-grip until Harry and Hermione had caught up. He then released her now throbbing arm and sat down next to her in the blue chairs that were arranged near the flight gate. Now embarrassed of her previous actions, Ginny peered around Ron to where Harry was seated. He was chuckling to himself and shaking his head. Ginny sucked in about a gallon of air, her eyes as round as saucers. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the carpet in embarrassment. 'These are those actions you do that get you into well, emotional trouble,' thought Ginny. 'Wait, is that even a term? I think so, I mean if emotional- no it isn't, for heaven's sake...but if-' Ginny was snapped out of her confused thoughts by Hermione's honey-colored voice. "Ginny, the plane is boarding now. Let's go." she said, swinging her bags over her shoulder and in turn swinging her brown wavy hair. Harry stood up as well, but waited for Ginny to catch up and pop up beside him before he began to walk with the rest of the group. Ginny looked up at him. 'Oh man, he's good looking. And to think it was MY shoulder he chose to cry on...I must be pretty special,' Ginny looked at the ground in front of her and watched foot upon foot of patterned blue carpet pass under her trendy-shoed feet. A little smirk found its way onto her face. Right now, she felt pretty good.  
  
"And what are YOU smiling about?"  
  
Ginny glanced up to see Harry gazing at her with his shapely green eyes that usually sparkle. But following suit of the past few months, his eyes were sad and dull. Right now he was smiling with his mouth, no matter fake of a smile it may be.  
  
"I'm excited. I've never been out of England before." A huge smile graced her freckled face.  
  
Harry continued to gaze at her, slightly amused. 'She really grew up, didn't she? I mean, if she wasn't Ron's sister, I'd- well, best not to think of it. Why is she still smiling?'  
  
"You're spunky."  
  
The smile snapped off her face. She cocked her head, trying to process what he had just said.  
  
"How random was THAT? You're so weird!" Ginny laughed.  
  
They both continued to laugh until Hermione, who had been walking next to Ron a few feet ahead of them, stopped and turned around.  
  
"What's so funny?" She asked. Even though she really didn't know what was funny, a smile had planted its seed onto her face and began to grow.  
  
Ginny flashed Hermione one of her trademark smiles and answered, "He called me spunky."  
  
"Spunky? Where did you get THAT from?" Hermione smiled at Harry in an attempt to look attractive.  
  
Harry (jokingly) slowly nodded his head and answered, "She's acting really spunky. She is definitely a spunky girl."  
  
Hermione grinned and shook her head. "You're so CUTE!" she said, smiling. As soon as Harry caught up to where she was standing, she wrapped him in a bear hug. She squeezed him as tight as she could, and as she let go she said, "We could never get along without you."  
  
By now everyone was in a dead stop in the middle of the hallway. Ron had separated himself about 5 or 10 feet ahead of the other three. He sighed in frustration. "Never said that to ME..." he mumbled to himself. He had begun to get the idea that Hermione had a crush on Harry. 'Why not', he thought. 'Every bloody girl in the school likes Harry. Oh, he's SO depressed. Oh, POOR thing, he is just so handsome and charming', Ron thought sarcastically. He sighed again. He knew he shouldn't be thinking these things about his best friend, but...how could he help it? Ron rubbed his brow, then continued to walk towards the open door leading into the plane.  
  
Hermione stepped back, and continued to stare into Harry's eyes. Then he did something very unexpected.  
  
Instead of smiling and blushing, or returning the compliment, he simply did one thing: He reached an arm out, and started to tickle her stomach.  
  
Hermione squealed, attracting Ron's attention. Then she flopped onto the carpet as Harry continued to tickle her. Harry laughed. There they were, in the middle of boarding an airplane to Southern California, and Harry was knelt down besides a convulsing Hermione, tickling her hypersensitive stomach.  
  
Ginny laughed and joined in the tickling.  
  
Ron growled and walked stubbornly back to where Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were "playing"  
  
Hermione managed to squeak out, "I can't breathe!"  
  
Harry immediately stopped and looked at Hermione with an apologetic look on his face.  
  
"Ha ha!" Hermione shouted. She sprung up and wrestled a surprised Harry onto the carpet. Then she started to tickle him just as he had tickled her. Harry laughed until tears came out of his eyes. But unfortunately for Hermione, Harry was about ten times stronger than she was. He lifted her up as if he was bench-pressing something, and then threw her off of him. He popped up, and giggled wildly. She hopped up as well and they started to chase each other up and down the hallway. After a few minutes of hyper chasing, Hermione was tired, and fell against Harry's hard chest.  
  
"My legs hurt from running." She huffed against his chest, which is about how tall she stood compared to him.  
  
Harry wrapped his arms around the tired Hermione and answered, "My stomach hurts from laughing."  
  
"Excellent." said Hermione jokingly.  
  
Harry started to laugh, then abruptly stopped. "Oow, my stomach! Stop making me laugh!"  
  
Hermione chuckled, then closed her eyes. 'This is definitely where I belong', she thought. 'Right here with my face snuggled against Mr. Washboard Abs. Oo, he's really warm. He's like a human heater. I wonder what he talked to Ginny about. Well, lets use that brain of yours:  
  
1. When he left, he seemed really hurt.  
  
2. When he returned, his eyes were kind of red.  
  
3. I already know about his depression.  
  
Do you think he cried? Oh my gosh, 'Mione! He hasn't cried since...he was a baby, probably. He didn't even cry when he broke his arm. Wow, and he might have actually cried to Ginny. I must interrogate her. But she likes him too, doesn't she? So this is like a competition for Harry. But she doesn't know I like him...maybe she WILL tell me what happened. Then I can use my knowledge to edge ever closer...And I will earn his love. Ha ha! Long live Hermione Potter!'  
  
A gentle hand rubbing her back woke her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see two brilliant green eyes gazing down at her.  
  
"Hey, don't fall asleep on me!" Harry smiled, then continued. "Let's go get our seats."  
  
Hermione tried to stand under her own power, but lost her balance and almost fell backwards. She caught herself and walked next to Harry through the doors of the plane that would open up a whole new world to the four young witches and wizards. 


	6. The Plane

¤*~ Spring Break in SoCal ~ Chapter SIX!! ~*¤  
  
**** If you haven't already read the first five chapters, I strongly suggest you do =)  
  
  
  
A woman dressed in a navy blue jacket, skirt, hat, and shoes greeted them as they walked through the doors of the 747.  
  
"Good afternoon. Thank you for choosing England–America International Airlines." She beamed and tossed her perfectly styled blond hair.  
  
"Hello, nice to meet you." Said Harry politely, and returned the woman's smile.  
  
He and Hermione walked down the amazingly clean aisle past rows of businessmen with laptops and richly clothed women cleaning the faces of small children. They continued to walk and look around until they came to a two–person seat containing Ron, and across from that seat was another containing Ginny. Ginny was reading the latest issue of a teen magazine, and Ron already had his headphones on. He looked up to see Harry staring down at him.  
  
"Umm…can I sit next to you?" Harry asked, quickly looking down at the carpet.  
  
"Sure." Said Ron, and moved his bag from the seat next to him onto the ground.  
  
Harry stepped over Ron's legs, shoved his bag in the overhead compartment, and sat down. He turned to look at Ron.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"I'm not mad at you." Said Ron, removing his headphones.  
  
"It seemed like you were."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you haven't spoke to me since I left back there at the airport."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So it seemed like you were mad at me."  
  
"Why did you have to leave in the first place? What I said wasn't that bad, was it?"  
  
"Well, sort of. But it wasn't just that, a lot of things haven't been going well for me right now."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Why are you interrogating me?"  
  
"If things are making you this messed up, I want to know what they are."  
  
Harry sucked in his lips and looked down at his hands. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"You did to my sister."  
  
"And how would you know that?"  
  
"It's pretty obvious, Harry. You both leave at the same time, you both come back at the same time, and all of a sudden you're some kind of super- friends."  
  
"Super-friends?"  
  
"You know what I mean. If you and I are such good friends, why can't you tell me anything?"  
  
"Remember last year when I tried to tell you that I didn't enter myself in the TriWizard tournament? You didn't believe a word I said, and you hated me for over a month." Harry frowned as the whole experience that he tried to forget started to come back to him.  
  
"I already apologized about that. Anyway, that was totally different."  
  
"How? It's the same exact story. Something bad happens, I turn to you, and somehow you switch everything around and start hating me. Then you yell at me over some misunderstanding."  
  
"I didn't yell at you."  
  
"You told me to die, then you called me a stupid orphan. But you didn't yell at me."  
  
"Okay, fine, I yelled at you. Sorry."  
  
They sat in silence. After a few minutes of staring at his own feet, Ron looked up at Harry. He looked very pale, and he was staring into space.  
  
"Why do you always look so sad?"  
  
Harry was snapped out of his thoughts. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Ron exhaled in exasperation. "Stop dancing around the subject. Just tell me."  
  
Harry shuddered involuntarily. "I killed Cedric. If I hadn't dragged him into that whole Voldemort thing, he wouldn't have died."  
  
Ron's jaw dropped open. "You're STILL thinking about that? God, Harry! It was an accident!"  
  
Harry paused for a moment, and closed his eyes. Ron could tell he was trying to calm down before he spoke. Harry took a deep breath, then began.  
  
"You weren't there. You wouldn't know."  
  
"You're not a killer."  
  
"I'm not saying I MEANT to kill him. But I did."  
  
"Shut UP. What's wrong with you? I mean, is this low self-confidence talking? Or is this just stupidity?"  
  
"I'm not stupid."  
  
"Then what? You hate yourself?" Mused Ron sarcastically.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Ron paused uneasily. "I was just joking, Harry."  
  
"I wasn't."  
  
As this argument was developing, Hermione struggled to fit her large bag of books in the overhead compartment without disturbing Ginny's huge suitcase full of clothes and makeup.  
  
"Lord, Ginny, did you bring your entire wardrobe?"  
  
Ginny momentarily closed the magazine and simply stated, "Not quite."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and plunked down next to Ginny.  
  
"Well, what did you leave out? A bracelet?" Huffed Hermione indignantly.  
  
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Why would I leave out a possible accessory? If you must know, I left out my winter jacket. I won't need that in California." She noisily flipped a page.  
  
Hermione laughed and shook her head. Then she leaned past Ginny to observe Ron and Harry, who were seated across the aisle to Ginny's left.  
  
"Where did Ron get that muggle CD player?  
  
"Dad gave it to him for Christmas."  
  
"Interesting." Hermione leaned even farther forward to see Harry. "What's with Harry?"  
  
For the first time, something Hermione said actually sparked her interest. Ginny placed her magazine in the pouch of the seat in front of her and turned her head to look. Ron and Harry were arguing about something serious, and Harry looked like he was going to explode.  
  
"He looks upset." Said Ginny.  
  
"Well, obviously. But why?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ginny, who swallowed. "You know why, don't you?" She grinned mischievously.  
  
Ginny bit her lip. There was no way she was going to tell Hermione anything. "I'm not at the liberty to say." 'Little vulture,' Ginny thought. 'He's MINE.'  
  
Hermione narrowed her eyes and frowned stubbornly. "And why is that? Did he TELL you that you couldn't tell anybody?" 'Oh yeah,' Hermione thought evilly, 'This would definitely get it out of her.'  
  
Ginny blinked. "Well...not exactly."  
  
"So why can't you tell me? I AM one of his best friends. I have the right to know more than you do."  
  
Suddenly an idea hit Ginny. "If he wanted you to know, he would have told you." 'Yes! She'll never get past this one!' thought Ginny triumphantly.  
  
Hermione's jaw dropped and shattered her resolve. 'My God, she's right,' thought Hermione, 'Maybe he doesn't like me after all. Maybe I'm...just his friend! No! This can't be!' "Well...he only told you because you followed him."  
  
"That's not true."  
  
"Then what is? Just tell me what's wrong, and maybe I can fix it."  
  
"Go ask him yourself. If you think you should know, then he'll probably tell you. It looks like he's telling Ron right now. Hey, wait a minute...that makes you the only person here that he hasn't told, doesn't it? I wonder why that is."  
  
Hermione was shocked. "You little b-"  
  
Fortunately Hermione was cut off by a shout from the seat next to them. They both closed their mouths and leaned to see what was happening.  
  
"Just leave me alone!" yelled Harry.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Why can't you just admit it?"  
  
"It's not true! Would you just STOP bringing that up? If I wanted to tell you, I would!"  
  
"Okay...but sometime during this flight I want to talk about it with you."  
  
"Just- don't talk about it ever again. I don't like that subject."  
  
"Harry, we have to discuss it sometime or it'll be looming over every conversation we have."  
  
"Lord, Ron, shut-up! It will not! "  
  
"I'm not going to leave you alone until we talk about it. I want to have this problem resolved before we get off this plane."  
  
"There is no problem."  
  
"You wouldn't be so mad if there wasn't."  
  
"I'M MAD BECAUSE YOU WON'T LISTEN TO WHAT I'M SAYING! IT'S LIKE TALKING TO A BLOODY WALL!"  
  
A woman with brown hair and the same navy blue uniform as the woman at the door sauntered in between the four teenagers with a dinner cart. "Alright, kids. Who wants steak and who wants lobster?" The woman smiled just like the blond woman at the door.  
  
"Steak? Lobster? What kind of plane are we ON?" Exclaimed Ginny in disbelief.  
  
Harry peered across Ron to answer Ginny's question. "Those were first-class tickets," he said with a calm smile. Ron was a bit surprised by Harry's sudden change of temperament.  
  
"Really? Wow." Replied Ginny. She tossed her hair and smoothed her shirt in new-found pride. "I would like lobster."  
  
The woman handed her a beautiful plate of lobster.  
  
All this elaborate food excited Ron. "I'll have the steak, please."  
  
The woman smiled at him, and he blushed. Then she handed him a plate of finely garnished steak.  
  
"I've flown on first-class before, and it wasn't as nice as this. How much did those tickets COST?" Asked Hermione to the brunette woman just after she was handed a plate of lobster.  
  
"Well, I would estimate that those tickets cost well over a thousand dollars each." The woman turned towards Harry, who, like the rest of his friends, was positively shocked. "What would you like to eat?"  
  
"I didn't even KNOW plane tickets could cost over a thousand dollars!" Harry stopped to look up at the woman, who was chuckling to herself. "Oh...er...sorry. I will have..." He looked like he couldn't decide. "Do you have some kind of chef on board? I mean, this food is REALLY lavish for being on a plane."  
  
The woman beamed at him. "Why, thank you. Here at EAA, we serve our passengers to the best of our extent." Losing her business tone, she continued, "You look familiar...I'm SURE I've seen your face somewhere before..."  
  
"I'm not sure where," lied Harry.  
  
"Why don't I give you the...steak?" she asked, then handed him a plate of the steak.  
  
"Sure," Said Harry, receiving the plate and placing it on the plate in front of him. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. I'll be coming around in an hour or so with the dessert cart." The attendant continued to walk down the aisle, serving other passengers and striking up small conversations.  
  
"Anyway..." Began Hermione awkwardly after what she had heard Ron and Harry arguing about.  
  
"Riiiight..." added Ginny in the same uneasy tone as Hermione.  
  
Ron decided it was his turn to change the subject. "So what do you think San Diego will be like?" 


	7. Why can't we all just get along?

¤*~ Chapter 7~*¤  
  
The last chapter wasn't very exciting, eh? Well this one's gonna be action-packed!  
  
Three hours had passed since anyone had spoken. It was well into the night. Ron was sleeping, Hermione was reading "Hogwarts: A History", and Ginny had coerced Harry into reading her magazine with her in the empty seat behind Ron.  
  
"So, tell me again…why do you want me to read "Teen Witch" with you?" asked Harry as he picked up the magazine.  
  
  
  
"Because I want a male opinion on some of the new fashions." answered Ginny as she took it from his hands and flipped several pages. "What do you think of this collar? Isn't it tacky?" She held the magazine under his face.  
  
  
  
"Er…I don't know. Maybe." Harry turned a page. "What is THAT?" He looked revolted.  
  
  
  
"What? Let me see." Ginny glanced at a picture of a spiked metal tube with several buttons and handles attached to the sides. "Oh, that's just shinefiller."  
  
  
  
"What's shinefiller?"  
  
  
  
Ginny laughed. "That's funny. Like anybody WOULDN'T know what shinefiller is." She stopped laughing when she saw the blank look on Harry's face. "Oh…you really don't know, do you?"  
  
  
  
"No…"  
  
  
  
"When a witch's face is shiny, she uses shine filler to suck up all the oil and re-powder her face."  
  
  
  
"Oh…do you use it?"  
  
  
  
"Sometimes. If I need it."  
  
  
  
"It looks like a medieval torture device."  
  
  
  
Ginny laughed. She turned the page to be greeted by a picture of a shirtless young man. "What a nugget!" she exclaimed, snatching the magazine away from Harry and closely examining the picture. Harry shifted uncomfortably. Girls "checking out" guys didn't exactly put him at ease.  
  
  
  
"Nugget?"  
  
  
  
"When I call a guy a nugget it means I think he's really handsome."  
  
  
  
"Am I a nugget?" Harry asked with a boyish grin.  
  
  
  
Ginny blushed. "Yes. You are."  
  
  
  
Harry smiled. "Well, then you're a nugget-ina."  
  
  
  
Ginny giggled, and blushed even more. "You think I'm pretty?"  
  
  
  
"I think you're gorgeous."  
  
  
  
Ginny began to giggle insanely. "Don't say that, it embarrasses me!"  
  
  
  
"Why does that embarrass you?"  
  
  
  
"Because…I don't know. No one's ever told me that before – well, except for my mother."  
  
  
  
"Then I'll say it again. You're GORGEOUS, Ginny. GORGEOUS."  
  
  
  
By this time they were both smiling at each other and laughing. "And you, Harry, are handsome and charming." Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder.  
  
  
  
Suddenly Harry's mood grew serious. "About earlier…you won't tell anybody that you saw me crying, right?"  
  
  
  
Ginny looked into his eyes. "No, I won't. I promise. Harry, can I ask you a question?"  
  
  
  
"Of course, Nugget-ina."  
  
  
  
"Why were you crying?"  
  
  
  
"I… I guess I've been kind of down lately."  
  
  
  
"Why?"  
  
  
  
"I feel like I was the one who caused Cedric's death. If I hadn't gotten him involved, he might still be alive."  
  
  
  
"Harry, you didn't intentionally cause his death. You had no idea the cup was a portkey…Harry, no matter what you say you'll never convince me that you're a killer. Never. Ron, Hermione and I love you, and you should love yourself, too."  
  
  
  
"I guess so." Harry faked a smile.  
  
  
  
Ginny smiled hopefully. "Do you really think so?"  
  
The jovial expression on Harry's face immediately faded. "Honestly…not really."  
  
"Why don't you just want to talk about it? I'm sure I could help you."  
  
"For the last time, I don't want to 'talk about it', and I don't need any help. Leave me alone about that stupid…incident."  
  
  
  
"You don't have to snap at me."  
  
  
  
"Sometimes I do. Certain people don't listen when I tell them to stop bothering me about that."  
  
  
  
"I WAS listening, Harry. I just don't want to let up about what I think is right."  
  
  
  
"Well it's NOT right. I don't-want-to-talk-about-it!"  
  
"You're so frustrating! What's wrong with you? You mope around all day feeling sorry for yourself, but when someone tries to cheer you up you yell at them!"  
  
"I don't mope around feeling sorry for myself! And I don't need 'cheering up'! People think, 'Oh, he's SO sad, oh, poor thing'- I hate it when people feel sorry for me!  
  
"They have no choice when you say things like, 'Woe is me, I feel guilty for causing some kid to die, I'm Harry Potter and you should pity me!"  
  
"When have I ever said that?"  
  
"You don't need to, people can just tell."  
  
"Why are you freaking out at me?"  
  
"I am not 'freaking out'!"  
  
"You're yelling at me about not wanting help! Even if I did later on, I wouldn't go to some raving mad-woman who screams at me like my Aunt Petunia!"  
  
"Well then I'm not going to try anymore. You're hopeless!" Ginny crossed her arms and faced the  
  
opposite direction. Exasperated, Harry sighed and leaned his head against the window.  
  
"Harry! Read this page! It's so exciting!" Hermione tapped Harry incessantly on the shoulder while keeping her eyes glued to the book. She was oblivious to the heated situation going on behind her.  
  
  
  
Because Hermione was now sitting next to Ron, Harry leaned over the back of the seat in front of him to view the thick, ragged book.  
  
  
  
"Yes, Hermione?" quested Harry, slightly annoyed.  
  
  
  
"Read this!"  
  
  
  
Harry sighed and read the page. It was about the Elfin Wars of 312. "Okay."  
  
  
  
"Well?"  
  
  
  
"It was…nice."  
  
  
  
"You never take interest in anything worthwhile," huffed Hermione indignantly.  
  
  
  
"So I guess studying wars that happened 700 years ago – not to mention that it was between ELVES – is worthwhile?"  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "If you say so, 'Mione." He sat back down in his chair.  
  
  
  
Hermione wiggled around in her seat and leaned over the back of her chair to observe Ginny and Harry, who had mumbled apologies and resumed reading the magazine. Ginny looked up. "What?"  
  
"I'm just watching you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Ron's asleep…and I've read this book 27 times. I have nothing better to do."  
  
  
  
"Do you want to read "Teen Witch" with us?"  
  
  
  
"Sure…but there is no more room back there."  
  
  
  
"Just sit on top of me." interjected Harry.  
  
  
  
"All right," responded Hermione coolly. 'Oo! Yes! I get to sit on his lap!' thought Hermione giddily. She carefully removed Ron's foot from her leg, and tiptoed out of her seat. She stepped over Ginny's legs and lightly sat on Harry's lap.  
  
"Harry, would you ever wear this?" asked Ginny as she turned the page and saw a handsome young wizard wearing an emerald cloak.  
  
  
  
"Let me see." Harry had to wrap his arms around Hermione to hold the magazine. Hermione blushed, but nobody noticed. "Maybe. How do you think I'd look in it?"  
  
  
  
"Wonderful. It'd match your eyes," commented Hermione. She turned her head to face him. "You look different."  
  
  
  
"Do I?"  
  
  
  
"Yes, you look…happier. Your eyes are sparkling again."  
  
  
  
"Thanks to Nuggetina for yelling some sense into me." Harry smiled at Ginny.  
  
  
  
Ginny smiled back, and winked. Harry laughed.  
  
"Who's Nuggetina?" asked Hermione curiously.  
  
  
  
"Ginny." responded Harry.  
  
  
  
"Why do you call her Nuggetina?"  
  
  
  
"A nugget is somebody who's really good looking. I told Harry he was a nugget, and he told me I was a nugget-ina – which is a female nugget. So now he calls me Nuggetina." answered Ginny.  
  
  
  
"I see." answered Hermione with a polite smile. 'Oh no!' inwardly panicked Hermione. 'He thinks she's pretty? That's the first step of a crush!' Hermione quickly moved along the conversation.  
  
"I've had so many nicknames like that in my life."  
  
"Me too! Hermione, what were your nicknames?" asked Ginny.  
  
  
  
"Let's see…Mione, Hermy, Spermy – that one was from my best friend Angela- Schmione, Hermi-honey, and Peablossom – my dad calls me that one." They all laughed.  
  
  
  
"I had terrible nicknames from my brothers. They called me Runt, Butt- face, and Thing. My parents gave me names like Buttercup and Beauty. My friends just called me Ginny and Gin." answered Ginny with a laugh. "Harry, did you ever have any nicknames?"  
  
  
  
"It depends what you mean by nicknames."  
  
  
  
"I mean…what did people address you by if they didn't use your name?"  
  
  
  
"Are you sure you want to know?" responded Harry darkly.  
  
  
  
"I guess so."  
  
  
  
"The Dursleys called me Freak, Little Bastard, S.O.B. – only they didn't use the acronym – and at school the kids called me Nerd, Ugly, Weirdo, Four-eyes, and Mop-head." Harry looked up to notice Ginny and Hermione staring at him sadly. "Sorry…you wanted to know." There was no expression of misery on Harry's face. It was an expression of complete normalcy, which made Hermione and Ginny somewhat uncomfortable.  
  
  
  
"Don't be sorry, it's just that…" Ginny trailed off awkwardly.  
  
  
  
Harry sighed, irritated. "Why does everybody want to know about my childhood? All it does is kill the conversation and make everybody uncomfortable!" He rested his head on Hermione's shoulder and fiddled with a ring on her finger.  
  
  
  
"Tell us all about it now so we never have to ask about it again." proposed Ginny.  
  
  
  
"No way."  
  
  
  
"Why not?" pleaded Ginny.  
  
  
  
"You don't want to know. No matter how much you protest, deep down you don't want to know."  
  
  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
  
  
"After you hear it, you're going to wish I never told you."  
  
  
  
"Enough with the cryptic threats, Harry. Just tell us." interjected Hermione. Ginny chuckled.  
  
  
  
"No. And that's final." stated Harry stubbornly.  
  
  
  
"You really annoy me, Harry. I'm going to sleep." snapped Hermione as she stood up and plunked down next to an unconscious and slightly drooling Ron.  
  
Ginny and Harry exchanged glances in silence. Ginny slid "Teen Witch" under her seat and left to retrieve her bags from the overhead compartment of her previous seat. Harry stood up and stretched, then trudged over to Ron and Hermione's seat. Evidently, Hermione had pulled on a pair of yellow duck- patterned pajama pants. She glared up at Harry menacingly as he struggled to maintain his balance while reaching over Hermione and Ron in an effort to pull his bag out of the overhead compartment. His sleeve rolled up while he was yanking out the bag, revealing a gruesome, jagged scar.  
  
"That's quite a lovely scar you've got, Harry." sardonically remarked Hermione.  
  
"Thanks." snapped Harry sarcastically. He succeeded in removing his bag and was about to return to his seat when Hermione grabbed his arm.  
  
  
  
"What is it from?" She asked, closely examining the thick purple scar.  
  
  
  
"Voldemort." Harry jerked his arm out of Hermione's grasp. "Don't touch it. It hurts."  
  
  
  
Hermione flinched at the sound of his name. "Still? It's been almost a year. That's interesting." She grabbed his forearm again and forcefully poked the scar. "Does that hurt?"  
  
  
  
"Ow!" shrieked Harry. He tightly clasped his other hand across his left forearm. "Of course it does! I just told you! God, I thought you were smart."  
  
  
  
Hermione had to bite her lip to restrain herself from arguing. She watched as he returned to his seat and worriedly inspected his arm. He wiped off a bit of blood onto his jeans, then pulled a pair of plaid pajama pants out of his bag. He looked up to see Hermione staring at him through the crack between the seats.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I AM smart."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and pulled a small red notebook and a pencil out of his bag. He glanced up again at Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Why are you still looking at me?"  
  
  
  
"Why are you being so cross with me?"  
  
  
  
"You can be very irritating." Harry opened up the book and began to write.  
  
  
  
Hermione ignored his last comment. "What are you writing?"  
  
  
  
"Thoughts and feelings about the day's events."  
  
  
  
"You mean you have a diary?" Hermione grinned.  
  
  
  
Harry blushed. "No…I have a journal."  
  
"More like you have a diary, right?" Hermione giggled.  
  
"No. It's a journal," firmly stated Harry.  
  
"Because a diary would be girly."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
  
  
"Can I read it?"  
  
  
  
"No."  
  
  
  
"Why not?" whined Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Because it's private. I'm going to go brush my teeth – don't you dare read it." With that, Harry stood up and left Hermione alone with the 'journal'.  
  
  
  
As soon as Harry was out of sight, Hermione leapt out of her seat and ripped open the journal. She skimmed through the day's entry. 'Bor-ing. It's nothing but a summary…I wonder what he wrote previously,' thought Hermione mischievously. She flipped back several pages to a place near the beginning, and began to read:  
  
September 23, 2001  
  
Well, I just got back from Quidditch practice. Practice is way too early in the morning – I mean, who in their right mind would schedule practice for before sunrise? I'm so tired…I barely got 4 hours of sleep last night because I had to finish that stupid essay for Prof. Binns. Anyway…last night I had the worst dream. I think it was about the Triwizard Tournament…I was back at Godric's Hollow, but this time Uncle Vernon was there and he was torturing me (ack!) along with some Death Eaters. Then Mom and Dad appeared, but instead of encouraging me they started yelling at me and egging on Uncle Vernon and the Death Eaters. That was basically the worst part of the dream, because before that Ginny and I got married. That was good, I guess. Oh well…stupid dreams don't mean anything. In other subjects…Ron really likes Hermione. I mean – it's almost an obsession now. The other day she got her hair cut and after she left Ron swept up the snippings. When we got back he spell-o-taped them onto the wall next to his bed. It's starting to freak me out. Either he needs to get over her, or she needs to return his feelings. Or at least that's my opinion…I'm so incredibly exhausted, but I can't go back to sleep. Right now I'm in the common room on that red couch in front of the fireplace. No one else should be awake for about an hour. I'm hungry, bored, and tired. Maybe I'll head down to the kitchen and see if I can get something to eat. Somebody's coming – I'll pretend I'm sleeping.  
  
  
  
Hermione remembered how one morning she had woken up early to finish her report on the Urkish raiders of 743. She remembered seeing Harry asleep on the couch. 'Little faker,' thought Hermione as she turned back more pages until she reached the third page of the book.  
  
  
  
July 6, 2001  
  
I'm worn out. Today I weeded the garden, cleaned out the attic, tidied Dudley's room, washed the cars, mopped the kitchen floor, and unclogged the toilet 4 times. I hate summer. I hope I get a letter soon…I have no idea what's going on with my friends or the wizarding world. Hermione hardly ever writes me, but Ron usually writes weekly.  
  
The Top 10 Best Things in the World –  
  
10. banana bread  
  
9. my strawberries in the garden…well at least when the birds don't  
  
pick at them  
  
8. spiders  
  
7. sleeping  
  
6. butterbeer  
  
5. jello  
  
4. dogs  
  
3. friends  
  
2. Quidditch  
  
and the no. 1 best thing in the world is…1. girls  
  
If you can't tell, I'm fairly bored. I think I'll go to sleep (no. 7).  
  
Hermione chuckled. 'What a cutie,' she thought as she continued to skim the pages. She was curious to find evidence of Harry's growing admiration for either herself or Ginny. "Which one?" she muttered to herself as she read the entry for December 9th.  
  
"Which one what?" questioned a high–pitched voice from somewhere behind Hermione. Hermione whirled around to meet the curious gaze of Ginny's grayish blue eyes. She was wearing girly pink pajama pants spotted with little red hearts.  
  
"Nothing." answered Hermione as she quickly slammed the book shut.  
  
Ginny grabbed the book and tried to pull it out of Hermione's grasp, but Hermione's hands were tightly gripping the red journal. Ginny placed two feet on the seat and began to pull back with all her might. Hermione kept her ground, but was teetering dangerously on the side of her seat.  
  
"What's…wrong…with…you…why…can't…I…see…the...stupid…book…" angrily huffed Ginny as she leaned almost completely backwards across the aisle. She yanked the book in a burst of energy, and Hermione gave in a little.  
  
  
  
"You…moron…it's…MINE!" growled Hermione in a similar manner. She pulled the red journal as hard as she could, and Ginny gave in just a bit.  
  
  
  
Unbeknownst to the two battling young women, the owner of the journal was standing right behind them, furiously surveying the entire scene.  
  
  
  
"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Sparks seemed to fly out of his dark-rimmed emerald eyes.  
  
In shock, Ginny and Hermione immediately let go of the book. Ginny toppled backward into the aisle, and Hermione tumbled to the floor. Harry snatched the book off the plush blue carpet.  
  
"Harry, I-" began Hermione, but was cut off.  
  
"Didn't I tell you not to read it?" growled Harry. Hermione had never seen him mad before.  
  
  
  
"Well…yes." answered Hermione guiltily. She picked herself up off the ground and dusted off her clothes.  
  
  
  
"Then why did you?" angrily questioned Harry.  
  
  
  
"Because…I was curious. I wanted to see what was in there."  
  
  
  
"That doesn't give you a right to invade my privacy. If I tell you not to read it, then DON'T." sternly commanded Harry, his voice growing louder.  
  
  
  
"…Sorry."  
  
  
  
"Just- go back to your seat."  
  
  
  
As per usual, Hermione ignored his request and decided to argue. "I wouldn't have read it if you had just told me more about your childhood like I asked."  
  
  
  
"Is THAT what this is about? My childhood? Okay then, Hermione. I'll tell you. At school kids teased me and beat me up. At home I was yelled at and ordered around. Then I went to Hogwarts and met you. How's that, Hermione?"  
  
  
  
"I don't know…" stated Hermione.  
  
  
  
"YOU DON'T KNOW? What else do you want? A 400 page autobiography?"  
  
  
  
"No…just more details." she stated.  
  
  
  
"I've had enough of this shit. I'm going to sleep." With that, Harry left the two shamefaced young women and settled himself into the seat behind Ron. He pulled a blanket over himself. "Good night, 'N'."  
  
  
  
Ginny blushed at the attention. "Good night, Harry."  
  
  
  
Hermione was shocked. "Why did you yell at me and not her?" She demanded indignantly.  
  
  
  
Harry pulled the blanket off his face to answer her. "She didn't even know what it was. She was just curious."  
  
  
  
"Gratuitous favoritism, Harry. That's exactly what you're exemplifying. "  
  
  
  
"Could you repeat that in English?" joked Ginny, who was trying to ease the tension between Hermione and Harry.  
  
  
  
"Shut up, Virginia. I'm not talking to you." snapped Hermione. Ginny stepped back.  
  
  
  
"Don't tell her to shut up, Hermione." growled Harry, shooting Hermione a glare that could crush steel.  
  
  
  
"I can tell her whatever I want to." snarled Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Go away. Nobody likes you." drawled a groggy male voice from behind the seat. Apparently Ron was awake. Ginny giggled, and Harry suppressed a laugh.  
  
  
  
Hermione huffed and stomped back to her seat, but not before pitching Ginny a reproachful glare. Ginny rolled her eyes and sat down next to Harry. She pulled half of Harry's blanket over herself and settled back in the plush seat.  
  
"Good night, Harry."  
  
"Sweet dreams, 'N'." 


	8. What a nice house...

¤*~ Spring Break in SoCal Chapter Eight!!  
  
Disclaimer: Do I even need a disclaimer? Why would I own Hp?  
  
A/N: Yeah, I know: I took a super long break from ff.net. But during that break I rewrote chapters 3, 6 and 7. Go read them!! They're a lot less sappy!! And follow the plot better!! Okay, now I'm rambling…On with the story!  
  
  
  
"Harry! Not yet!" yelled Hermione as she bounced happily atop the translucent red cube of Jell-O, "I want to bounce for just a little while longer!"  
  
Harry squirmed impatiently. "But it's my turn! You've been on for nearly ten minutes! Okay, fine…I'll go down that giant rainbow slide over there." Harry frolicked over to a steep, towering rainbow slide and scurried up the ladder. "Watch me go, Mione!" He sat momentarily atop the platform, then propelled himself down. Halfway down, he tumbled off the edge of the slide and rapidly fell towards the shiny green grass. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he –  
  
"Harry! Wake up! The plane is landing!" Harry was shaken awake to stare into two large grayish-blue eyes.  
  
"What time is it?" Harry groggily noticed that Ginny had changed into a new outfit.  
  
"Like nine in the morning. Go get dressed. And brush your hair, it looks like a bird's nest."  
  
"You sound like my aunt," grumbled Harry as he pulled a collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants out of his weathered green bag. He shuffled sleepily down the aisle.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes and checked her makeup in her compact mirror. 'Perfect', she thought. 'Now to review the outfit. Blue halter from Abercrombie and Fitch, good. Gap jean cutoffs…are they short enough? Does my butt show? Oh, just a little. Good.' She smiled and a sparkle glinted off her pearly white teeth. 'I could be in Teen Witch,' she thought hautily. Just then Harry walked back to the seat. He had already gotten dressed, and apparently he had fully woken up. He sat down next to Ginny, who was applying an extra layer of gloss to her pink sparkly lips. She glanced over to him, and ran her hand through his hair.  
  
"Do you even own a brush?" She tried in vain to comb his hair to one side.  
  
"There's no point. It just doesn't work," answered Harry.  
  
"Have you ever tried gel?" Ginny pulled a blue bottle out of her bag.  
  
"No…why?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Here, let me comb some through your hair." She squirted a jiggling dollop of the blue viscous gel into her hand.  
  
Harry repulsed himself from her reaching hand. "I don't want my hair to get hard and crispy."  
  
"It won't. This gel is special." She combed her gel-covered fingers through his soft, thick hair. Suddenly his hair shifted into a current of organization.  
  
Harry stared at her uneasily. "What did you just do?" He gingerly touched his hair. It was soft as usual, but it had some sort of order and direction.  
  
Ginny beamed proudly at her accomplishment. She feverishly tapped the heads of the two passengers in the seat in front of her. Annoyed, Ron and Hermione turned and sat up in their seat to face her.  
  
"What?" asked Hermione. She looked over to Harry and gasped. "Y-your hair…"  
  
Hearing this shocked statement, Ron glanced to the object of Hermione's astonishment. "What did you do to it?" Ron closely examined Harry's hair with squinting eyes  
  
"Ginny put some weird gel in it. Does it look okay?" answered a smiling Harry.  
  
"It looks great!" exclaimed Hermione. Ginny replaced the bewitched hair gel to her bag.  
  
A sudden rocking of the plane silenced the four chattering teens. A man's voice came on over the loudspeakers.  
  
"Thank you for flying with English-American Airlines. You may exit through the door on your left."  
  
Several passengers cheered. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny collected their various bags and followed the line of passengers out the door and down the ramp leading into San Diego airport in Lindbergh Field. As soon as they emerged into the busy airport gate, bright morning sunlight pierced their shielded eyes.  
  
"Harry Potter! Harry, is that you?" exclaimed a high-pitched voice with an American accent.  
  
Harry looked squinted against the streams of sunlight to see a tan girl with blond curly hair standing next to a tall, tanned, muscular golden- haired boy and a pale, freckled, green-eyed girl with dark-blond hair. The curly-haired girl smiled and waved excitedly. Harry smiled and walked up to her with his entourage of three curious teens following him.  
  
"Hullo, I'm Harry." He introduced himself with a smile and held out his hand.  
  
The curly-haired girl, who Harry took to be Calista, squeaked excitedly and hugged him. "You are like so way much hotter than I imagined you'd be!" She let go of a somewhat shocked and blushing Harry to introduce him to her friends. "This is Mike," she said, motioning towards the grinning boy who looked like he had walked straight out of a magazine, "and this is Sandra Fernandez," she added with a flourish, pointing towards the green-eyed girl. Harry smiled and accepted a friendly hug from Sandra.  
  
Harry decided it was time to introduce his friends. "This is Ron, Hermione, and Ginny." Sandra and Calista didn't waste time running up to hug Ron. "These girls are rather flirtatious, eh?" whispered Ron in Harry's ear. Harry nodded justifiably.  
  
Calista led the group outside to the airport's loading zone and into a large red van, which was running in neutral outside the sliding doors of the airport. Once inside, Calista introduced Harry to her brother Alex (who was driving), and initiated a conversation with her guests.  
  
"So Ginny, Harry told me in his letters that Ron is your brother." shouted Calista over the radio, which was blaring the music of a popular alternative band.  
  
"Unfortunately," responded Ginny with a laugh. Ron's attention was piqued, and he honed in on the conversation.  
  
"Aren't you pissed that you have to spend spring break with your older brother? I mean, you can't flirt with any hot guys or anything," asked Sandra lightheartedly. Ron frowned.  
  
"I have my ways," answered Ginny mischievously. Hermione laughed.  
  
"You can always flirt with me," joked Mike, who was leaning past the side of the front seat to face Ginny. She blushed and ran a nervous hand through her pencil-straight orange hair. She didn't want Ron to hurt this boy like he had done to her past suitors.  
  
  
  
Several minutes later, the car parked and seven teenagers clambered out of the back seat. Alex locked the van, and proceeded to walk nonchalantly towards a sprawling white mansion. It faced the dazzling pale sands of Coronado's Central Beach. Near Central Beach lays the famous Hotel Del Coronado, which is flocked to by throngs of tourists every summer.  
  
The young teens ambled awe-struck through the stained-glass-paned French doors of Calista's house. She led them up a marble winding staircase to their rooms. Once settled into their respective rooms, Ginny and Hermione flocked to Ron's room.  
  
"This is so cool," marveled Hermione. Ron agreed.  
  
"That girl must be really rich," said a wide-eyed Ginny, "Where's Harry?"  
  
"He and Calista are picking some lemons from the backyard. Harry said he wanted to make real lemonade," answered Ron with a chuckle, "He can be such a little wanker sometimes. Hey, Ginny…you never told us about what was going on with him back there at the airport."  
  
  
  
"He was crying, wasn't he?" stabbed Hermione. She leaned forward towards Ginny expectantly.  
  
  
  
Ginny shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Don't be silly…Harry never cries."  
  
  
  
"Yes he does," interjected Ron. Ginny stared at him, waiting for the detailed explanation that Ron usually gives after delivering one of his shocking statements. "But only in his sleep. I don't think he realizes that he does, either."  
  
  
  
"I remember the first time that I saw him," added Hermione. "It was last summer while I saw staying at your house. It was so weird."  
  
  
  
"I agree. It's so uncharacteristic of him."  
  
  
  
Ginny listened, wide-eyed, to the conversation that was being held between Hermione and her brother. There was no way Harry could be that messed up, just no way. He didn't seem too sad at the airport- he was crying, but he didn't seem so…sad. At least not like that. Ginny broke off her chain of thought and jumped back into the discussion.  
  
"Well then I'm going to stay up tonight and see if I can hear him."  
  
Hermione stopped talking. She and Ron looked at Ginny quizzically. "Why?"  
  
"Well…I don't know-" she started, but was cut off by Ron.  
  
"Why don't you just talk to him about it?"  
  
"I already tried. He's too closed off. He barely tells me anything," she answered.  
  
"Well then, tonight if he starts crying again, go into his room, wake him up, and ask him about it. That way he has no way to get out of explaining it to you," suggested Hermione.  
  
Heavy footsteps plodded up the flight of stairs leading to the hallway. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were silent when Harry walked into the room. He stared, surprised, at the three forlorn faces for a moment before he spoke.  
  
"Who died?" he joked, trying to ease the odd tension. No one responded, and his smile fell. "Err…Calista and I made some lemonade, it's in the kitchen if you'd like any." He watched silently in the doorway as Ron and Hermione and filed out of the room. He stopped Ginny before she could leave.  
  
"What happened in here? Did Ron and Hermione get in another row?" he asked curiously.  
  
"No…Harry, I have something to ask you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why do you- no, nevermind…I'll ask later," she tried to leave again, but once more Harry grabbed her shoulder.  
  
"Just ask me now."  
  
"No, you'll get cross with me for prying."  
  
"No, I won't." Harry walked across the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted the mattress, and Ginny strode nervously over and sat next to him.  
  
"Now, what were you going to ask me?" He turned to face her and stared at her attentively. She was silent. "Well? Are you going to ask me the question or not?"  
  
"Not now. Later tonight. I promise I'll ask you, but not now. It isn't the right time."  
  
"Blyme, how important can this question be? What, are you going to ask my hand in marriage? Do you want my kidney?" mused Harry sarcastically. Ginny blushed and ran out of the room. Harry was left sitting on the bed, wondering what in God's name she wanted to ask him. 


	9. And it finally comes out

¤*~ Chapter 9!  
  
¤*~ Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling.  
  
¤*~ Special Thanks to---Chuckles: you don't know me, but I thought your story was cute and it gave me some ideas for this chapter…not the slash part, but the really good use of adjectives to create the scene.  
  
¤*~ A/N – Although I have denounced SAPPINESS in my previous chapters and A/Ns, I figured this chapter needed a dose of sadness and melancholy. I don't mean to say 'Oh poor Harry let's cry for him' but I mean- after what happened in the end of the 4th book, it's probably normal for someone in his situation to feel guilty and somewhat freaked out.  
  
Oh, yeah…I decided to make this H/G. I mean, Ron needs a girlfriend, and who better than Hermione to be her?  
  
PS – I used these thingies ^^ to emphasize some words (i.e.: I ^really^ want to). And I've emphasized the British accents these characters have by adding in some London slang (with the help of my friend James).  
  
Some words include: "gormless wuss" = silly person, "knackered" = really tired, "wanker" = idiot, "blyme" = gosh, "oy" = hey, strop = to harass…etc.  
  
  
  
Ginny sighed and turned her restless body to face the digital alarm clock that had been placed in her room. It was just past three o' clock in the morning. Unable to sleep and hoping to hear Harry's voice from his room across the hallway, she flicked on the light and sat up. After about thirty minutes of waiting in vain, she climbed out of her bed and tiptoed out of the room. She crossed the hall and pressed her ear against his door. To her surprise, she heard soft noises. 'Is he crying? Should I go in and wake him up? Wait- first I have to make sure I don't have bed-head. I have to look nice for this.' She checked her appearance in the nearest mirror, then slowly cracked open Harry's door. She poked her head inside the devastatingly dark room. She could now hear him much clearer- he was crying. She carefully padded over to the side of his bed, and let her eyes adjust to the darkness.  
  
Tears slowly rolled down Harry's thin cheeks, which shone a silvery white in the moonlight. He was curled into a loose ball, and his eyes were shut tight. He looked so vulnerable, so childlike. Ginny sucked in her breath and watched in silence as his breathing hitched erratically and his chest rose and fell at alternate intervals through his exhausted sobs. She wiped tears off her own cheeks and was about to wake up when he began to mutter something. "Stop…just leave me alone…please don't hurt her, just go away…" Ginny stood up and reached her hand out again to wake him. She grasped his shoulder and shook him lightly. He woke up and his thick, wet lashes fluttered open to see Ginny standing over him with tears in her eyes. He fumbled for the glasses resting on his nightstand, and slid them on to focus on the red-haired girl.  
  
"Ginny?" he asked groggily.  
  
  
  
At once Ginny felt awkward and slightly embarrassed to be standing in his room in the middle of the night. "Err…hi Harry."  
  
  
  
"…What are you doing here?"  
  
  
  
"I – err…you woke me up."  
  
  
  
"I did? I'm dreadfully sorry! You must be exhausted."  
  
  
  
"No, really I'm not. But…I'm not here ^because^ you woke me up, it's ^how ^ you woke me up that upsets me."  
  
  
  
"How did I wake you up?"  
  
  
  
She paused before responding, "You were crying, Harry."  
  
  
  
Harry climbed out of his bed and stood up. He was clad in nothing but a pair of green checkered boxers and a pair of white socks. Moonlight streamed across the tree and through the window behind his bed, thus creating a dappled effect on Harry's back and chest. Seeming to scrutinize her with his eyes, he challenged, "I was not."  
  
  
  
Ginny was taken aback by this absolute denial. "Yes, you were. Oy, you still've got tear marks on your cheeks."  
  
  
  
Harry wiped his hand across his cheek and appeared surprised that it was wet. "I see," Harry paused and returned his emotionless gaze back to Ginny. "How does that involve you?"  
  
  
  
Ginny frowned slightly and stammered a response, "I- I thought that maybe I- I could help you maybe stop crying or something."  
  
  
  
Harry's nondescript facial expression shifted into one of slight annoyance. "It was just a nightmare. Everyone gets them." He must have been held back whatever rude comment he had in store.  
  
  
  
"Not almost every night."  
  
  
  
"And who said that I get them almost every night?" Harry took a short step towards Ginny, and instinctively she shifted backwards. Harry took immediate note of this small action. "Why did you back up?" Ginny, feeling increasingly intimidated, took another step backwards. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Harry. "There, you just did it again." He experimentally stepped towards her again, and she backed up into the door. "Why are you backing up?" She let out a small whimper, and suddenly every ounce of aggression in Harry dissipated. His shoulders slumped as if he was releasing a heavy weight and he stared at her, appearing guilty and shocked. "Do I…scare you?" he asked, astonished.  
  
  
  
Ginny nervously toed the shiny wood floor. "No, it's just that-…well, maybe I should go."  
  
  
  
Harry was now standing less then two inches away from Ginny. "Please don't. I want to talk with you." He took her hands and gazed into her eyes. Ginny practically melted: Harry could have a hypnotic effect with people, if he tried.  
  
  
  
"O-okay…," she whispered, as if in a trance. Harry led her back to the rumpled sheets of his bed, where they both sat down.  
  
  
  
"So what did you want to ask me earlier?"  
  
  
  
Ginny snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "I wanted to ask you what happened a couple months back that turned you from happy and carefree to sad and paranoid."  
  
  
  
"I wouldn't exactly say, "sad and paranoid", but well…I think it was everything that happened in my fourth year. I found out that the school only liked me because I was famous- when Rita Skeeter and Draco spread all those rumors, everyone immediately started hating me. Not only that, but…during the last event of the TriWizard Tournament-" Harry cut himself off and turned away from Ginny. She gently grabbed his chin and turned it to face her- tears were forming in his eyes, and his silvery moonlit cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I don't want you to see me like this…" he laid his narrow face in his hands, and Ginny wrapped her arms around him.  
  
  
  
"What happened at the TriWizard Tournament?"  
  
  
  
"Well…Cedric and I were at the last leg of the maze, and we had to grab the cup- you see, whoever walked out with it would be the winner. When we were both facing the cup this huge spider came out from behind Cedric and tried to attack him, but I distracted it and it almost amputated my leg. I could barely walk because of that spider, and the deep laceration was bleeding all over my new robes…Anyway, then he wanted me to take the cup 'cos I had saved him twice so far. I insisted on us both grabbing it at the same time so that we'd both be winners-I didn't even want to win, remember I didn't even put my name in that cup in the first place. Then, when we touched it, we were transported to Godric's Hollow because the cup was a bloody portkey. As soon as we got there it was pitch black but then all these Death Eaters lit their torches- I saw Snape and Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy's fathers there- and we were in this old cemetery with a huge boiling cauldron. I heard someone say, "Kill the spare" and then the Avada Kedavra curse was performed on Cedric. There was this flash of green light, and it was like all the life was just sucked out of him-" Ginny cut him off.  
  
  
  
"Isn't that the same curse that You-Know-Who used on your parents?"  
  
  
  
"Yes. Anyway, after that my forehead hurt so bad I couldn't stop them from tying me up to Voldemort's father's tombstone. So then I saw that Wormtail was- Oh, Ginny: you never found out that it was Wormtail (he's Peter Pettigrew, you know) who ratted out my parents and not Sirius Black…and Sirius is my godfather."  
  
  
  
Ginny gasped in shock and punched Harry's arm. "Blyme! Are you serious? How can you be serious? Why didn't you ever tell me?"  
  
  
  
Harry just laughed and continued his tale. "So then I found out that Wormtail had to bring Voldemort back to life. Voldemort was this nasty little red baby-creature at the time-"  
  
  
  
Ginny cut him off again, "Does my brother know about Sirius? Does Hermione know about Sirius?"  
  
  
  
"Yes! They both know about him! In fact, the four of us are good friends. He writes them letters sometimes. We had the maddest adventure in our third year- but that's an entirely different story."  
  
  
  
Ginny playfully shoved him back onto his moonlit bed. "You and your secrets."  
  
  
  
Harry dragged her down next to him. "If you don't stop stroping (A/N: British slang for "harassing") me I'm going to call Ron. He's only one door away, you know."  
  
  
  
"Ron would never hurt me. It's Hermione I'm worried about."  
  
  
  
"Oy, when am I going to finish my story? I'm quite knackered, and I'd like to get back to sleep."  
  
  
  
"Alright, you gormless wuss."(A/N: More British slang for "silly person")  
  
  
  
"Like I was saying…Voldemort was this nasty little red baby-creature, and apparently they had to mix the correct ingredients into the cauldron for Voldemort to be able to absorb it and become his full self. So Wormtail dropped him into the cauldron, and then got some dust from the grave I was on to rise out of the ground and into the cauldron as well. Then – you'll never believe this part, Gin- Wormtail chopped off his own hand and threw it into the cauldron!"  
  
  
  
"Eurggh! That's disgusting!"  
  
  
  
"Like I said, it was the worst experience I've ever had. So after he cut off his hand, he used the remaining one to slice my forearm open with a knife," Harry paused to reveal to Ginny a long, jagged scar on his forearm. She gasped and poked it, causing Harry to flinch and retract his arm in sudden pain. "…So then after Wormtail had all the ingredients in the cauldron, Voldemort stood up out of it in human form. Then Voldemort started reprimanding the Death Eaters for not being loyal enough, and he performed the Cruciatus Curse on me. I have never been in more pain in my entire life. It's like being stabbed a thousand times, then falling off of a hundred-story building onto concrete seven times- I'm not exaggerating, either." By this time Harry was sprawled out on the bed with Ginny resting her head on his chest. She was near tears just thinking of this terrible experience, and how it happened to the boy she had secretly loved for years. "When he did it, I was still tied to the tombstone. I could barely see or move. My head was swimming when he challenged me to the duel. That was rather unfair, don't you think? A powerful wizard challenging a crippled fourteen year-old boy to a duel seems a bit one-sided to me. I shouted at him, and that cleared my head enough to allow me to stand up- Wormtail had untied me with his new silver hand. I dodged a few more curses, then emerged from behind another tombstone and said, 'Expelliarmus' at the same time Voldemort said, 'Avada Kedavra'. Then the really odd thing happened: Our wands connected with a golden thread, and we rose into the air, surrounded by a criss-crossed web made of the same stuff. There was a golden orb in the middle of the connecting thread, and the closer it got to Voldemort's wand, the more spirits came out. First Cedric, then the old man from my dreams, then…my dad and my mum. I urged the orb to edge close enough to Voldemort's wand for the threads to dissipate, and we fell to the ground. I ran- or stumbled, rather- far enough to grab the cup and Cedric's body and be transported back to the maze. Once there, I dragged the two of them out and collapsed. The rest of the story you already know." Harry turned his head to face the one that was resting on him. "Well, that's my story. What do you-" He noticed Ginny was crying. He wrapped his bare arms around her, and soothingly whispered into her ear. "'S okay, Gin, I'm fine now. Nothing for you to bother with, everything's over and done."  
  
  
  
Ginny stood up with tears streaming down her cheeks, and Harry followed suit, embracing Ginny once more. "Everything's NOT over," she sobbed, "and you're NOT fine. You…all that stuff happened to you, and you didn't do anything to cause it. You're nice…and honest…and brave…and…" She looked up to see Harry gazing at her romantically, but she was too caught up in the moment to stop talking, "…And handsome…and charming…and- mmph!" Suddenly Harry's lips were on hers, and she returned the favor. This continued for several minutes until Ginny professed that she had to go back to bed.  
  
Just as she was leaving, Harry called after her, "Ginny, wait…what does this mean?  
  
Ginny was out of breath from her and Harry's "activities" and appeared a bit flustered. "I- I really don't know. We'll talk about it in the morning.  
  
  
  
Ginny lay in bed, feeling both happy and sad. Happy that she had kissed Harry, and sad after hearing Harry's tragic experience. Nevertheless, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. 


	10. The new couple

¤*~ Wow. This story is starting to get LONG. But it's all good, right? I hope you guys out there like the story. I was thinking about how some could interpret this story as a "Mary Sue". No, it is not. I have specially written this story so that it WOULDN'T be a Mary Sue. I mean, aren't they annoying? "A new mysterious girl joins Hogwarts in the 6th year. What will happen? Does Harry Potter fall in love with her?".  
  
Those can be so lame. I really only made Calista and her friends so that Harry & Co. would have an excuse to visit the area in which I live (Coronado).  
  
So…Harry and Ginny. Cute couple? Or a mistake? Let me know!!  
  
¤*~  
  
Harry tiptoed into Ginny's room the next morning. The sun was just beginning to rise over the Pacific Ocean, creating a spectacular light show in the window adjacent to Ginny's bed. He noticed that her bed was empty, and so looked around the room for a head of red hair. A light flashed on in the corner of the room. Startled, Harry whirled to face the source of the light: her bathroom. Ginny absentmindedly sauntered out of it- naked as the day she was born. Harry shrieked, attracting Ginny's curious attention. She screamed and ran into her closet.  
  
"Harry James Potter! What the bloody hell are you doing in my room?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you! I didn't know you'd be traipsing around stark naked!" Harry heard rustling clothing inside the closet.  
  
Ginny cracked open the closet door and peered suspiciously at Harry. "How much did you see?"  
  
Harry smirked devilishly. Ginny flushed bright red in both anger and embarrassment. She burst out of the closet, this time wearing sweatpants and a tank top. "You little…," That was all Harry needed to hear before he sprinted out the room and down the hall. He paused at the top of the stairs to catch his breath.  
  
'Good Lord,' he thought, 'She's going to hate me. Maybe I should go apologize…' Harry picked himself up and trudged slowly down the hall. He stopped and knocked on Ginny's door.  
  
"Yes?" called her voice from somewhere inside the room.  
  
"It's me…" he trailed off, feeling guilty.  
  
"Oh," she answered curtly.  
  
"Listen…I'm dreadfully sorry and I'd like to make it up to you."  
  
Ginny was silent.  
  
"I have an idea. Will you let me in?"  
  
The door opened, and Ginny made a sweeping motion with her arm. Harry walked inside, staring shamefaced at the floor.  
  
"Well?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"You're feeling rather exposed, aren't you? Humiliated. Like I embarrassed you. Like I invaded your privacy."  
  
"Exactly." Ginny crossed her arms against her chest.  
  
"Well, I have an idea. Would you feel better if you saw me naked?" Harry looked up hopefully.  
  
"Harry!" She was shocked.  
  
"That wouldn't ease your pain?"  
  
"Harry, that's…you're so…" Ginny couldn't find any words, and slapping her hand to her forehead didn't help.  
  
"Then do you just want to see one half? Top or bottom, take your pick." Harry grinned. "If I were you, I'd choose bottom."  
  
"You dirty little…" Ginny couldn't help but smile.  
  
Harry cut her off. "It's quite nice, really. But if top's your fancy, then…" He began taking off his shirt.  
  
"Stop stripping, Harry." She giggled and plunked herself down on her bed.  
  
"Strip? Alright. Want me to do a sexy little dance, too?" Harry started rolling his abdominal muscles.  
  
"Harry! I said DON'T strip!" She smacked his arm playfully and hid her eyes.  
  
"What's that you say? Keep stripping?" Harry pulled off his pajama bottoms and began to dance seductively in his boxers. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her off the bed. "Dance with me, Gin."  
  
She giggled once more and decided to play along. She let him pull her around the room, and found herself laughing uncontrollably. Once they had completed two half-circles around her room, Harry stopped dancing to flash her a smile.  
  
"So how was that, Gin?"  
  
"It was…interesting," she answered with a laugh.  
  
"Just interesting?"  
  
"You'd make a lot of money as a stripper."  
  
Harry burst into sudden laughter, and threw himself onto her bed. "Really? Was I that good?"  
  
"Simply couldn't help myself," joked Ginny  
  
"Which brings me to exactly what I wanted to talk about earlier. Ginny…are you…are we…a couple?"  
  
Ginny paused in thought. "I'm all yours," she answered with a grin.  
  
Harry leapt off of her bed and cheered. Spontaneously, he picked her up and whirled her around. "Let's go tell everybody." He opened the door and carried her out of the room. 


	11. You are my sunshine...

¤*~ Chapter 11. Ooh, that last chapter was a bit…racy, if ya ask me. Oh well. This story was much too clean in the first place. Hehe, thank you guys for your reviews. I just have one complaint- don't flame the story when you haven't read the whole thing. I noticed that a lot of you didn't even finish the story, and then you ask questions which I already answered in later chapters.  
  
Hey, I just noticed that this story gets more dramatic with every chapter! Oo, tantalizing! =) jk  
  
¤*~------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hermione, look at this! Have you ever seen one of these?" Ron was haphazardly balancing on a slick brown rock, peering into a lively tidepool. Several small, transparent fish flitted away from his roaming finger. A fiddler crab scuttled across the sandy bottom of the pool, and colorful shells collected in between the cracks of the rocks. Two young teenagers were carefully crawling in what Calista and her friends called "the Jetty": a hook-like collaboration of large brown rocks that protruded into the Pacific Ocean. Some rocks were dangerously slippery, while others were covered with sharp, menacing barnacles. Tidepools dotted the part of the Jetty near the shore, while further out breakers crashed against the invading rocks. Hermione leaned over a nearby barnacle-scaled rock to peer at Ron.  
  
"What? I can't see it." From her perspective, it was hard for Hermione to view the contents of the tidepool.  
  
Ron looked over his shoulder to see Hermione gazing curiously back at him with her honey-brown eyes. 'God, she looks good in a swimsuit,' he thought as he surveyed her somewhat pale, thin frame. "Climb over that rock and come look." He returned to poking at the poor fish.  
  
Hermione frowned. Surveying the barnacle-laden rock, she figured that she probably couldn't climb over it without seriously cutting herself. "No. I'm going to hurt myself. I'm just going to go around through the back." She slowly picked her way through the back of the Jetty and arrived next to Ron. Squatting beside him, she ran her index finger through the shallow waters of the tidepool.  
  
Without looking up, Ron asked, "How do you feel about Harry and Ginny?"  
  
"I'm glad. They both are very happy." Hermione turned to face Ron. "I think I know how you feel."  
  
Ron chuckled softly. "How could you not know…the way I acted when I first found out was-"  
  
Hermione cut him off. "-scary. Very scary. But I have to admit, you reacted calmer than I thought you would. You didn't hit anybody or throw anything."  
  
Ron looked up and returned Hermione's quiet gaze. "Now that I think about it…I'd rather have it be Harry than anybody else. I can trust him to take care of her."  
  
Hermione smiled softly. "You're right. He'd never try to take advantage of her. Oy, at least it wasn't Malfoy."  
  
Ron laughed. "I'd have a heart attack." He paused, then added, "Maybe I should go apologize for yelling at him."  
  
Hermione beamed and gave Ron an awkward hug; anything otherwise and she would be in danger of slipping. "You've really matured, Ron." They picked themselves up and clambered among the increasingly barnacle-laden rocks toward the beach. Just as they almost reached the dry white sand, Ron heard somebody cry out behind him. He whirled around to see Hermione laying slightly bloody and tangled in between two sharp barnacled rocks. He gasped and rushed towards her, offering his arms for assistance. She crumpled against him, letting out a loud, harsh sob. Her once pristine arms and legs were now badly lacerated with thin bloody streaks caused by the small barnacles. Instantly Ron felt like her savior; he lovingly picked her up and proceeded to carry her towards the main lifeguard tower.  
  
¤*~  
  
Calista squealed and splashed Harry with the freezing cold salt water. They bounded about the waves, screaming and splashing and diving. Harry fell backwards into the icy waves, dragging Calista with him. She tossed her wet blond curls and threw a handful of dripping sand at Harry. He reciprocated the action, slamming the muddy substance against her face.  
  
Ginny contemptuously watched the two playing in the breakers from her spot in the dry white sand. She and Sandra were laying on their towels in hopes for a tan. "Doesn't that bother you?" she asked Sandra.  
  
"Not really…well he's not MY boyfriend, so I wouldn't be one to speak."  
  
Ginny bit her lip. "Well if he we WAS, what would you do?"  
  
Sandra paused. "I'd probably go distract him or something. I mean, I guess I'd be jealous…but Calista doesn't mean any harm, she's just the flirtatious type. I'm sure she isn't purposefully trying to "reel him in" or anything."  
  
Ginny sat up and removed her sunglasses. "What do you mean? Should I say something? What should I say?"  
  
"Gosh, you're uptight about this. Really, you've got nothing to worry about…but if you're really freaked out you can call him over here or something. Or go play with them."  
  
"Well…I don't want to get all cold and wet."  
  
"And salty and disgusting-"  
  
"-and have sticky, nappy hair-  
  
"-and have sand in your bikini-"  
  
"-and have smelly kelp stuck onto my skin-" At this last comment the two girls burst into laughter.  
  
"So I guess you're not going to go to him?" asked Sandra with a smile.  
  
"No…Maybe I'll just call him over…" Ginny replaced her sunglasses and laid back on her elbows. "HARRY!"  
  
  
  
Harry whirled around to see a quite blurry Ginny beckoning to him from the shore. 'I need my glasses' he thought inattentively. "Calista, I've got to go see what Ginny wants." Calista stood up out of the waves and absentmindedly pulled at the straps of her bikini top. "Sure Harry, I'll go see what that Hermione-girl is up to." They struggled to leave the grasp of the pulling waves and trudged up the shore.  
  
  
  
¤*~  
  
  
  
Hermione wiped salty tears from her rouge cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ron. I'm such a wimp." She winced suddenly as a lifeguard pressed an antiseptic wipe to her bloodied leg.  
  
  
  
"It's quite alright, really. You were pretty badly scraped back there." Ron noticed that he had been holding her hand. For an instant he thought of dropping it, but decided that he liked it there. The lifeguard finished applying bandages to her arms, legs, and stomach, and sent the two on their way.  
  
  
  
"Thanks for coming with me." Hermione and Ron were heading towards Ginny and Sandra.  
  
  
  
"You're welcome. Are you positive you're alright?"  
  
"I am. Blimey, you care loads about me, don't you?" Hermione immediately regretted this bold question.  
  
Ron was somewhat startled, and he blushed. "I…I told you how I felt back at the airport." He nervously scratched his neck and stared at his feet.  
  
"I know…" The silence was oppressive. Finally Hermione continued, "You're such a great chap, Ron…it's just that I'm a bit confused right now. I mean…I think you knew when I fancied Harry, but…but now I find out that he fancies your sister, and I- I just don't know what to think. I obviously can no longer be enamored with him, and my feelings for you are cloudy right now." At that Hermione bravely stood on tip-toe and kissed Ron on the cheek. "Wait for me, Ron…I know I'll probably fall in love with you sooner or later, no matter what happens."  
  
Ron was speechless. He rubbed his cheek, and a grin slowly spread across his freckled face. "I will. I really will, Hermione, I promise," he answered giddily. The two finally arrived at the head of Ginny's towel just as Harry was jogging up the beach. Sandra had already gotten up and left to meet Calista near where Mike was surfing. Ginny gasped and suppressed a eager smile when she saw Harry standing dripping wet in front of her, in all his panting, muscle-bound, green-eyed glory.  
  
"Hullo Ginny, Ron, Her-HERMIONE! WHAT HAPPENED?" Harry anxiously inspected her intensely bandaged limbs with an edge of despair. At last he regarded her with a severely worried expression. His mouth hung slightly open, waiting for her response.  
  
"I fell on some rocks that had barnacles on them, and I got a bit scraped-"  
  
"A BIT scraped? You look like a mummy with all those bandages!" Harry was genuinely worried about his best friend.  
  
Hermione smiled softly and touched his shoulder. "No need to worry, I'm fine now."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
Defeated, Harry sighed and sat in the white, powdery sand next to Ginny's red towel. Ron and Hermione shared Sandra's abandoned green towel. Ron watched disgusted as Harry kissed Ginny affectionately.  
  
"Could you NOT do that when I'm around?" Harry and Ginny turned around to notice Ron staring at them and looking utterly repulsed.  
  
Instead of snapping, Harry cooly answered, "You're going to have to get used to it once Ginny and I get married." Ginny brightened at the thought of a marriage.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes and stubbornly stood up. He brushed off any sand remaining on his boardshorts and walked away. Hermione diligently followed.  
  
"It'll take him a while to get used to us," said Ginny as she began to pull her hair back into a ponytail.  
  
Harry lightly grabbed her hands and removed them from her silky red hair. "Don't put your hair up. It's pretty."  
  
Ginny regarded Harry seriously and asked, "Do you still think about…you know…that thing?"  
  
Harry paused. "Sometimes. Not that much anymore."  
  
"Don't ever try it, Harry. Ever. I'll kill you if you do."  
  
"You wouldn't need to," said Harry with a dry chuckle.  
  
Ginny didn't laugh. "Suicide is a serious thing, and-"  
  
"Ginny, I told you I don't think about that anymore." Harry picked distractedly at a seashell.  
  
Ginny rested her head on Harry's salty, wet shoulder. Particles of kelp still lingered on his browning skin. "I'm just so worried, Harry. You…you mean a lot to me." Ginny blushed as she said this.  
  
Harry looked down at her and grinned. "Aww…you're so cute." Ginny began to speak up indignantly but Harry silenced her with a kiss.  
  
"If you weren't such a good kisser I'd slap you for that," joked Ginny. "But seriously, I don't want you to hurt yourself. And I definitely don't want you to…"she trailed off uneasily.  
  
"Die?" Harry sighed and pulled her closer to him. "Thanks for caring about me." Ginny sighed and relaxed against his warmth. She began to quietly sing:  
  
You are my sunshine  
  
My only sunshine  
  
You make me happy  
  
When skies are gray  
  
You'll never know, dear  
  
How much I love you  
  
So please don't take  
  
My sunshine away  
  
Suddenly a low, melodic reverberation grew deep inside his chest and startled Ginny. Harry quietly joined her song. After two verses, Harry sighed contentedly and remarked, "This is the perfect time for that song."  
  
"I like it when you sing," commented Ginny. Harry smiled.  
  
"What would you like me to sing for you?"  
  
"Anything."  
  
Harry paused, then asked, "Want to hear a song I made up?"  
  
Surprised, Ginny asked, "You've made up songs?"  
  
It was Harry's turn to blush. "There's a lot you don't know about me."  
  
Ginny smiled. "I'd love to hear a song."  
  
"Want to hear one about you? Well, I wrote it a few nights ago so it still needs work and-"  
  
Ginny cut him off. She was beaming proudly. "You wrote a song about me?"  
  
Harry began to sing in a clear, angelic voice.  
  
I know a girl who's down the hall  
  
She would never give me a call  
  
I try to speak, but find I can't…  
  
She always walks so quickly by  
  
All I can manage is a "hi"  
  
But she doesn't respond at all…  
  
Is she blushing out love  
  
Or do I deserve a shove  
  
…Am I just yearning for a dream?  
  
When the last heavenly note died, Harry glanced down to notice Ginny gazing at him and looking quite enamored. Before he could breathe a word she dragged him behind the restrooms and passionately kissed him. Harry broke off, breathing hard. "What was that for?" he asked, astonished at her sudden bravery.  
  
"Shut up and kiss me," she hissed as he pinned her against the wall. 


	12. Behind the bathroom

¤*~ Yes! I'm getting more reviews! Hey, keep them coming! They make me want to write more ;)  
  
Anyway…that last chapter was pretty action-packed, huh? I like it that way. Nice and juicy. Well I'll stop boring you with these non-HP ramblings…on with Chapter 12!  
  
¤*~ ( I like those things (. I'm also high on sugar.  
  
Ron and Hermione sauntered down the crowded shoreline. Countless small children were destroying sandcastles and messily sucking on colorful juice boxes. Little girls with frilly bathing suits screamed and ran from the oncoming waves, only to follow them when they receeded. Sweaty, tan men in naval fatigues ran down the hard, wet sand in beige military shorts, chatting in monotone jargon. The two teenage tourists from England felt oddly out of place in this crowd of tan, relaxed Americans. They also couldn't talk about their school or their magical heritage, lest a muggle hear and either tell somebody or think that Ron and Hermione were going insane.  
  
"It's so different here than back in London," said Hermione as she took in all the sights and smells of Coronado. The slight breeze was perfumed with plumeria flowers and the scent of lemon and orange trees. Scattered along the upper shore were large, thin gray palms teetering dangerously in their immense height. The powdery white sand felt hot under her bare feet, and her arms and legs were crisscrossed with the needle-like shadows created by the palm fronds.  
  
"I like it better here. No teachers telling you what to do, no prying brothers and sisters just aching to humiliate you in any way possible…"  
  
  
  
"Actually, I find myself missing the structure and discipline of school- Ron, don't give me that look. No, I don't want any of your ice cream. You licked all over it." Hermione sucked on the straw of her soda.  
  
  
  
Ron retracted his sidelong glance ('What a freak. How could she miss school?') and his offer of a bite of his chocolate ice cream cone. "Sorry. I forgot I had rabies," he remarked sarcastically.  
  
  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let's turn back now. Calista probably wants to head home." The two doubled back on their path of wet footprints. Finally, after ten minutes of walking in silence, they arrived back at their small camp of towels and discarded clothing. Calista and Mike were drying themselves off, and Sandra was book-marking her thick novel.  
  
  
  
Calista looked up when she saw Ron and Hermione's shadows blot the bright reflection of the sand. "Where's Harry and Ginny?"  
  
  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Wherever they are, I'm sure they'll be back soon. They know it's about time to leave." The sun had begun its fiery ascent into the fuzzy blue horizon, and the families surrounding them had commenced to packing up as well.  
  
  
  
"I'm going to the loo. Be back in a flash." Ron jogged towards the gray cement buildings that were the Central Beach restrooms.  
  
***  
  
Ron washed his hands in the metal, prison-like sinks and dried them on his blue, knee-length board-shorts. The sandy cement floor was ice-cold under his bare feet as he sauntered out the back door. As he walked out, he was repulsed to see his little sister and his best friend passionately kissing against the back wall.  
  
  
  
"Euurgh! That's disgusting! Lord, get a ROOM!" Ron shielded his eyes and advanced towards the beach.  
  
  
  
Harry blushed, and Ginny scowled. "Ron, we were just kissing," said Ginny as she adjusted the straps of her bikini top. Harry bashfully wiped lipstick off his cheek.  
  
  
  
"Just kissing? You were practically having sex against the wall!"  
  
  
  
Harry gasped. "We were not! I didn't touch her!"  
  
  
  
"Not yet- it's a miracle I caught you in time. Ginny, you're coming with me. Wait 'til Mum hears about this. She'll blow a gasket, she will." Ron grabbed her arm, but Ginny angrily shook it off.  
  
  
  
"Ron, STOP! These past few years you've been trying to be a good brother, and there's nothing wrong with that- but lately you've been totally crossing the line! I'd like you to watch out for me, but…Lord, you've been sacking blokes left and right! And, Ron- Harry is the nicest chap I'll probably ever meet. He would not try to do anything that you wouldn't condone, I promise. So just…just leave us alone for now, I'll tell you if I need anything."  
  
  
  
"Gin, I just don't want you to get hurt. You're right, it's my job as your older brother to take care of you. And I will continue upholding that job as long as my heart beats." Ron and Ginny had momentarily lost their raging "Weasley tempers".  
  
  
  
"Ron, you've done a great job protecting her so far. But just let me take that job for a while. I really care about your sister, and I won't let anything happen to her. You can trust me. Here, we can do our special handshake to solidify the deal." Harry held out his hand, and with slight smiles he and Ron slapped both sides of their hands, hooked pinkies, bumped fists three times, and slid their wrists against each other's.  
  
Ron turned to Ginny. "I'm sorry for acting like a wanker. You know what, Gin? You're in good hands." Harry grinned and placed his hand on the small of Ginny's back. The three walked happily back to where Hermione, Calista, Sandra, and Mike were waiting and ready to leave.  
  
"It's about time. I feel so gross, I need to take a shower," said Hermione, sticking her tongue out.  
  
"Me too. I'm covered in kelp and dead sea creatures." Harry pulled a small fish out of the side of his shorts. Laughter rang throughout the teens as they crossed the smooth black street and walked up Calista's front doorstep. 


	13. A wee bit frisky, eh?

¤*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, I'm quite disappointed with Chapter 12. So much boring in so short of a chapter. But, moving on…I think this chapter will follow each person individually. Like, each character will get their own little part of it. Hermione and Ginny go first, then Harry and Ron. I think we need more personality coverage in the story…or something. Ah, I don't know, just read the chapter! =)  
  
¤*~ Chapter 13 (A/N: unlucky thirteen!)  
  
Hermione zipped up her pants and strolled out of the steamy bathroom. She wrapped a white towel around her head and walked lazily down the hall. She could hear Harry cooking dinner downstairs- it smelled like pasta. He didn't exactly enjoy cooking after years of being the Dursley's main chef, but all that practice had greatly sharpened his skills. She and Ron coerced him into making something as soon as they got home from the beach. Hermione passed her own room, which was directly across from Harry's, and walked to the very end of the hallway where Ginny's door stood. She knocked lightly as she cracked open the door.  
  
"Harry?" called Ginny's disembodied voice from somewhere in the room.  
  
"No, it's me," responded Hermione as she slowly walked inside. Ginny was standing next to her closet and trying to pull a blue sweater over her head.  
  
  
  
"What is it?" Ginny yanked down the sweater and stared at Hermione. Her fiery hair was standing on end from the sudden pulse of static.  
  
  
  
"I just…I never…I want to look pretty, and I figure you'd be the right person to go to. You know, because you have all that makeup and clothes and…shoes." Hermione paused awkwardly when she saw the dazed expression on Ginny's face.  
  
  
  
Suddenly Ginny broke into a grin and scrambled towards Hermione, pulling her into the bathroom. Once she had shoved her onto the toilet, she pulled a huge bag of various cosmetics from under the sink and stared at her breathlessly. "I've been waiting YEARS for you to say that," She came up with a tattered piece of parchment. "During which, I've prepared a list of colors that would match your complexion. Look, I've got…mauve eye-shadow to match your chocolate- brown eyes…dark lipstick because that looks good with brown hair…oh, and light blush because you're sort of pale. No offense."  
  
  
  
"None taken," Hermione waggled her legs back and forth. Ginny pulled several small plastic containers out of the bag with a grin. Just as she was about to paint a streak of the mauve eye- shadow across Hermione's right eyelid, she shrieked and retracted her hand. Hermione panicked and covered the afflicted eye, thinking something was wrong with it. "What's on my face? Is there something wrong with my face?"  
  
  
  
Ginny sighed and smacked her forehead. She muttered something that sounded like 'What was I thinking…' before she responded. "No, it's just that I forgot to do something with your hair. If I don't fix your hair before your face, I might smudge your makeup."  
  
  
  
Hermione stood up and placed both hands against towel on her head protectively. "I didn't say anything about my hair."  
  
  
  
Ginny pushed her back onto the seat and rolled her eyes. "Well obviously I can't JUST do your makeup. I've seen Fashion Emergency, you know. I know how this works."  
  
  
  
Hermione knitted her brow. "What's Fashion Emergency?"  
  
  
  
Ginny placed her hands on her hips. "It's a show on Dad's telly about these fashion experts giving ugly muggles makeovers. First they do their hair, then their makeup, and then their outfit."  
  
  
  
Hermione threw off the towel and once again stood up. Damp brown curls spilled down her shoulders. "Did you just call me ugly?"  
  
  
  
Ginny calmly pushed her back onto the toilet with a grunt. "No, for heaven's sake no. Settle down. I'm doing you a favor, remember?"  
  
  
  
Hermione lost her animosity and settled herself comfortably atop the toilet seat. "So…what are you going to do to it?"  
  
  
  
"I planned that out as well. Remember the Yule Ball when you straightened your hair?"  
  
  
  
"You're going to do that?" asked Hermione excitedly. "I loved that!"  
  
  
  
"No. I'm not." Ginny lifted herself atop the counter and clasped her hands. "You have naturally curly hair, but you-" she paused to perform an exaggerated shudder. "-you CONSTANTLY frizz it out and…don't condition it!" She spat out the last taboo words.  
  
  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "As if not conditioning my kinky hair would curse me for life."  
  
  
  
Ginny leapt off the counter with wide eyes. "You'd be surprised! Hermione, curly hair is not a burden, but a gift from God! I wish I had curly hair! All you have to do is properly maintain it and blokes will be falling all over themselves just to be with you! Lord, it's like…it's like catnip for men!"  
  
  
  
Hermione looked appalled and a bit concerned. "I think you're taking this fashion thing a bit too far."  
  
  
  
Ginny remained unfazed. "You only say that because you're ignorant. Now- look at this hair. So much potential. So much WASTED potential. Sit tight, I'm going to get something out of my suitcase." Ginny left, but quickly scampered back with a glowing pink bottle.  
  
  
  
Hermione warily backed into the toilet's tank. "What is that?"  
  
  
  
"Just this stuff I picked up for curly hair a few years back. I used to think I had it. Oh, those dark, dark days… " Ginny reminisced back to the times when she'd beg Charlie to try any spell that might give her curly hair.  
  
  
  
"…And where did you pick it up?"  
  
  
  
"Diagon Alley." Ginny wasted no time in squirting a pool of think pink liquid into her hand and running it through Hermione's hair. The fuzzy brown mane quickly shifted and tightened into shiny curled tendrils. Ginny beamed, and proudly stood back to admire her work. Hermione anxiously stood up and tried to look in the mirror, but Ginny quickly covered her eyes and dragged her out of the bathroom, slamming the door.  
  
  
  
"Why can't I see it?" whined Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Not until I'm all done. Here, I brought the make-up with me." Ginny applied all the ingredients on the tattered list she dubbed, "Hermione is a Wanker Not to Wear These" on to Hermione's face. Once again she stood back to bask in her self- proclaimed glory.  
  
  
  
"How do I look?" asked Hermione curiously.  
  
"Yummy. Not a totally different person, because you were actually very good-looking before the make-up. Anyway, you really match the "natural look". Now for an outfit…"  
  
Ginny strolled over to her closet and pulled out a sparkly pink tube top.  
  
  
  
"NO. There is NO way I am wearing that," warned Hermione suspiciously.  
  
  
  
"I know. I was thinking of wearing it later. Wouldn't I look great in it?" Ginny enthusiastically held the tiny shirt up to her chest to show Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Simply smashing. I thought you were going to dress ME up."  
  
  
  
"Me, me, me. Is that all you ever think about?" Ginny hung the tube top back up in her closet.  
  
  
  
"I'm not even going to dignify that question with an answer." Now completely fed up with Ginny's nonsense, Hermione stood up and walked towards the door.  
  
  
  
"NO! Wait! I'm sorry! Come back, I'll let you borrow…err, a necklace. Just let me change your outfit a bit," pleaded Ginny. Hermione furtively smirked and walked back towards her. "Here, wear…this shirt," Ginny threw a pink-pinstripe shirt with a deep collared neckline on her bed, "And this skirt." She pulled a knee-length brown skirt out of the closet and tossed it towards Hermione.  
  
  
  
Hermione got dressed, and after thanking Ginny walked out of the room. Tonight would definitely be interesting.  
  
  
  
Harry tossed the last cup of diced tomato into the pot, and sprinkled in more dried oregano. After almost a half-hour of working, his sauce was just about finished. This wasn't the first pot of tomato sauce he had made that evening; he had to discard the last one after Ron accidentally dropped his chocolate frog into the bubbling red mixture.  
  
  
  
Ron edged closer to the stovetop. "Can I help now?"  
  
  
  
"No. Remember what happened last time?"  
  
  
  
"It won't happen again! I don't have any more chocolate."  
  
  
  
"Well…I'm almost done, anyway. I don't need any more help." Harry turned off the stove and began spooning large servings of pasta into eight bowls.  
  
  
  
"Can't I do anything?" Ron slumped into a chair.  
  
  
  
"You can set the table." Harry was now garnishing plates with springs of parsley.  
  
  
  
"Set the table? That's a girl's job. Why can't I help with the chicken?"  
  
  
  
Harry turned around to face Ron, who was now indignantly crossing his arms. "There's no such thing as a girl's job. And if you want to do something, that's the only thing you can do that will help me." Ron grumbled and began brusquely pulling groups of glass cups from the cupboards. "Be careful, Ron. We don't want to break anything." Ron muttered something under his breath, and stormed over to the dining room. Harry sighed and removed the breaded chicken from the oven.  
  
  
  
"Harry! Guess what?" Ginny bounded down the stairs and arrived in the living room. "Harry? Where are you?"  
  
  
  
"I'm in the kitchen! It's the door to your right!" he called out the door. Seconds later Ginny skipped into the room.  
  
  
  
"Harry! Guess what I did? Mmm, it smells good in here. What are you making?" Ginny poked her head over his shoulder to view the meal that he was preparing. "Oo, you cook better than my mum."  
  
  
  
"Thanks. To answer your question, I'm making breaded chicken with linguine and my own recipe for sauce. Oh, and what did you do?"  
  
  
  
Ginny clapped her hands once and jumped in excitement. "We- e-ell…IgaveHermioneamakover!"  
  
  
  
Harry cocked his head and knitted his brow. "I'm sorry?"  
  
  
  
Ginny laughed and placed a hand to her forehead. "Sorry. I just had a WHOLE lot of sugar. I gave Hermione a makeover!"  
  
  
  
Ron trudged into the room. "Ron, you can set the table. Ron, you can't help with the food because you're stupid," he grumbled to himself as he lifted two steaming plates of food from the counter and shuffled out the door.  
  
  
  
Harry watched sullenly as he left. He snapped out of his thoughts and returned his attention to his girlfriend. "You gave her a what?"  
  
  
  
Harry watched curiously as Ginny ran outside and performed a cartwheel. Ron plodded back into the kitchen for more plates. Noticing Ginny, he asked suspiciously, "You didn't give her sugar, did you?" Harry shook his head innocently. "Well you can't- I mean, you can give her SOME sugar but just not that much. She gets crazy."  
  
  
  
"Not…'MAD-crazy' but 'giggle-crazy'…right?"  
  
  
  
"Yes. She doesn't go MAD, of course. She just gets real hyper." Ron walked outside. "Ginny! What are you doing? You're going to embarrass yourself! Get back in the house!" Harry heard Ginny and Ron arguing outside. "I am not embarrassing myself…Yes, you are, normal people don't go around doing splits and cartwheels…How do you know…Because I'M normal and YOU'RE not…Shut up Ron, you think you're so wicked I just can't stand it…," Ron briskly paced into the kitchen and picked up more plates. He left the room just as Ginny was sulking back into the kitchen.  
  
  
  
"Harry, don't listen to Ron. He just doesn't want you to like me."  
  
  
  
"I'm sure that's not his intent."  
  
  
  
"You didn't live with him for eleven years and three summers. He gets so jealous."  
  
  
  
"Believe me, I know how jealous he gets. We've had plenty of fights over that." Harry walked to the door in the kitchen that connected to the back porch. He sat down on the light blue-painted wood and squinted against the harsh afternoon sun. Ginny sat down next to him and rested her chin in her hands.  
  
  
  
"I'm so lucky," she said with a slight grin.  
  
  
  
"Why's that?" asked Harry sullenly. He felt bad because he knew that lots of Ron's anger indirectly stemmed from his influence.  
  
  
  
"You're not violent, or jealous…you don't have a temper, you're not ignorant or slightly prejudiced or anything."  
  
  
  
Harry looked up. "Are you saying Ron is like that?"  
  
  
  
"No. Not really. I guess he's just hard for me to deal with because I know WAY too much about him. Like, all of his bad characteristics totally stick out to me because I'm so familiar with him."  
  
  
  
Harry nodded. "I know what you mean. Ron's a great chap and all, he just has his bad side like everyone else."  
  
  
  
"Exactly. Well you don't really have a bad side, or at least not that I know of."  
  
  
  
"Of course I have a bad side, everyone does. I just don't wave it around like a banner."  
  
  
  
"Know what? I really don't know that much about you."  
  
  
  
"Then ask me some questions."  
  
  
  
Ginny leaned back on her elbows. "Let's see…what's your favorite subject?"  
  
  
  
"You mean like in school?"  
  
  
  
"Overall. Like in the entire world."  
  
  
  
"Not arithmetic, that's for sure. Maybe literature, I like writing."  
  
  
  
"Really? You write stories?"  
  
  
  
"Actually I did write one a while back. But I'm embarrassed of it now…it had a stupid plot, and I really had no idea what I was saying."  
  
  
  
"How old were you when you wrote it? What was it about?"  
  
  
  
"I think I was around ten. I don't really want to talk about what it was about, it was just really…lame. I'm ashamed of it now."  
  
  
  
Ginny raised an eyebrow, but decided to let the subject go. "Okay…other than dementors or You-Know-Who, what are you most afraid of?"  
  
  
  
Harry paused. "Pelicans and big fish."  
  
  
  
Ginny snorted. "What's so scary about pelicans?"  
  
  
  
Harry bolted up. "What's so scary? They're huge, and have these enormous beaks that could bite your head off," Harry spread his arms about two feet, "That are like THIS big, and…stop laughing! They really are terrifying!" Ginny just laughed and shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Okay Gin, now it's my turn to ask questions. What sports did you play before Hogwarts and Quidditch?"  
  
  
  
"I don't know if ballet and gymnastics count as sports."  
  
  
  
"Gymnastics counts. It's in the Olympics." Harry sat back down next to her. "So you're a dancer?"  
  
  
  
"Well I WAS. I'm still fairly flexible, though. Want to see me put my legs behind my head?"  
  
  
  
Harry stared at her, bewildered. "Doesn't that hurt? I'd pull every muscle in my body if I tried that move."  
  
  
  
Ginny smiled proudly. "Not for me. I can do many things like that. I can do back handsprings, arials, flips…can you do any of those?"  
  
  
  
"Err…I can't do much. The best I can do is a back-flip."  
  
  
  
"That's still good. New question: do you play any instruments?"  
  
"Yes, I can play some songs on the piano."  
  
"How did you learn? I thought your family hates you." Ginny immediately regretted her last comment and nervously sputtered an apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let that slip out- not that I really do think that, it just popped into my head and out my mouth- you know?"  
  
  
  
Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it, it's true. Anyway, I learned how to play the piano from this mean old lady that used to watch me when they went places. She wanted me to 'be good at something'. So can you play any instruments?"  
  
  
  
"I can play the violin a bit. I'm not very good, though. What can you play on the piano?"  
  
  
  
"Well, one of my favorite compositions to play is by Tchaikovsky, it's called-" As per usual, Ginny cut him off.  
  
  
  
She stared at him, bewildered. "That's classical music! Why haven't I ever heard you play the piano before?"  
  
  
  
Harry shrugged. "You don't have a piano, and it isn't like there's one available to me at Hogwarts."  
  
  
  
Ginny lost her shocked expression, and replaced it with a soft smile. "I guess we're just learning a lot about each other today."  
  
  
  
Harry broke the brief lull in the conversation. "When did you stop acting so shy around me?"  
  
  
  
Ginny sat up. "What do you mean?"  
  
  
  
"You never used to act so comfortable around me…well, at least not before maybe a few months ago. What happened?"  
  
  
  
"I don't know. I guess just started talking to you more, and the more I got to know you the less I worshipped you like some kind of god."  
  
  
  
Harry nodded. "We should go inside now. I don't want to have to re-heat the food I just made." He stood up and held open the door for Ginny, but before she accepted his invitation she asked one more question.  
  
  
  
"When did you first take interest in me?"  
  
  
  
Harry blushed and smiled softly. "I don't know what happened to you last summer. You must have been taking steroids or something, because you really matured- mentally AND physically…if you know what I mean."  
  
  
  
Ginny grinned. "Thanks. Why don't you tell Ron that?"  
  
  
  
"I enjoy having the use of my legs."  
  
  
  
"He wouldn't paralyze you."  
  
  
  
Harry snorted. "If he was mad enough. Come on, I don't want the others to think that we're 'doing anything' out here."  
  
  
  
"Especially Ron?"  
  
  
  
"Especially Ron." 


	14. Dinner

Chapter 14 ~*¤ I took a super long break from this story to make some new, shorter ones and also because my hard drive was freaking out. Well I majorly re-wrote some chapters because the plot was ridiculously dramatic. I was gonna have chapter 15 be the last chapter, but I decided this story was much too loved to be finished. Seriously, it was my very first imaginary adventure for Harry Potter: my friend and I first thought of it when we were ten. And now I'm almost 15 and am actually trying to develop it into a real story. Weird!  
  
Harry danced down the third floor hallway, singing loudly and positively beaming. He hopped down two flights of stairs and encountered Ginny sitting in the living room, lackadaisically watching the television. Her attention was piqued when she noticed Harry's jubilant attitude.  
  
"What happened to you?" she asked.  
  
Harry returned her gaze curiously. "What are you talking about?"  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "You're happy."  
  
He skipped over to her and pulled her off the sofa. "Of course I am."  
  
She returned his smile. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
He simply grinned, and kissing her forehead, danced towards the door.  
  
Ginny followed him across the room. "Where are you going?"  
  
Just as he was walking out the door, he began singing in his crystal- clear voice, "I think I'm in love…"  
  
Ginny watched giddily through the window as he twirled down the moonlit sidewalk. She could still hear his muffled voice through the thin glass. Just then, Ron walked into the room.  
  
"What a girl. He's always singing about something."  
  
Ginny frowned as he plunked down on the sofa and changed the television channel to a soccer game. "I think he has a beautiful voice."  
  
  
  
"I never said that he was bad at it. I just said that it's a girly thing to do."  
  
  
  
"Whatever." Ginny stood up and sauntered lazily into the kitchen. "Do you want any cookies?" Ron leapt off the sofa and burnt his hand on a hot, squishy cookie. "Not yet, Ron! I just pulled them out of the oven, you have to let them cool before you can touch them. Oh no, now this one has a finger-dent in it."  
  
  
  
Ron laughed. "Yeah, but what happened to the poor finger? Can I have some ice to put on it?"  
  
  
  
Ginny dampened a cloth in cold tap water. "A hot cookie couldn't have burnt you that bad. Just cool off your hand with this."  
  
  
  
"Dinner was so good," said Ron as he slumped back into his lazy position on the sofa, "I'm stuffed."  
  
  
  
"I wonder where Harry went at this time of night." Ginny sat next to Ron and, to his obvious dismay, switched the channel to "Martha Stewart Living".  
  
  
  
"T'isnt that late. Just about eight o' clock."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah, but does he know where he's going? He could get lost."  
  
  
  
"Coronado isn't that big of a town, Gin. And I'm sure he's not going far. Maybe he's meeting Mike somewhere- if you're really that worried, go chase after him," Ron snatched the remote control from Ginny's hand and switched the station back to the soccer game. "Can I have one of those cookies now?"  
  
  
  
"I'm not going to chase after him. That would be too…too weird. Too "stalker". Sure, go get a cookie."  
  
  
  
Ron pushed himself wearily off the sofa and stole a cookie from the pan. "Why didn't Hermione come down for dinner?"  
  
  
  
Ginny stretched and switched the channel back to "Martha Stewart Living". "I have no idea. I made her look so sexy, too. I can't believe she didn't want to show herself off."  
  
  
  
Ron shoved the entire cookie into his mouth. "I do' 'noh, mayb oo shou go geth her."  
  
  
  
"Ew, Ron, don't talk with your mouth full." She stood up and walked towards the stairs.  
  
  
  
"Wai! Gim!" he called with his cookie-mush-filled mouth. She turned around, and he showed her his partially chewed food.  
  
  
  
"That's disgusting," she said, and was answered by Ron's raucous laughter.  
  
  
  
She climbed the stairs and walked down the hall towards Hermione's bedroom. She knocked twice before entering.  
  
  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
  
  
Hermione was sitting quietly on her bed. She hadn't taken off any of the makeup or clothes Ginny had let her borrow.  
  
"Why didn't you go down for dinner?"  
  
Hermione looked up at Ginny, who was standing uncertainly in the doorway. "Well, I got to thinking…why did I want to look like somebody I'm not? I mean, the makeup, the trendy clothes…eventually I got to thinking that maybe I was trying to impress somebody. Maybe just having him as a friend wasn't enough, y'know?"  
  
Ginny moved closer. "You taking a fancy to Ron?"  
  
Hermione blushed and shrugged. "I've always wanted to know how it feels to have a man's love. How it feels to have him put his arms around you and protect you, and just how it feels to know that he cares about you in that special way."  
  
  
  
Ginny smiled and her eyes partially glazed over with fond memories. "It feels wonderful. Especially Harry…I swear he's perfect. Every year he defeats these monsters and wizards, and he's never cursed, never hit an innocent person- well excluding Sirius- never taken advantage of anybody…he's so brave and valiant and DAMN good-looking…he sings like an angel, and he-"  
  
  
  
Hermione interrupted. "Okay, okay Ginny. I get the point."  
  
  
  
"Sorry," she bashfully apologized, "Well, why don't you go downstairs and tell Ron how you feel?"  
  
  
  
"Because I just told him I wasn't ready for a boyfriend just this afternoon! What's he going to think when all of a sudden I've changed my mind?"  
  
  
  
"He's going to be incredibly excited, that's what! Go tell him, I'll watch from the dining room."  
  
  
  
"Not right now! It has to be the right moment." A look of peace settled over Hermione's usually stressed face, as if she had been planning the next statement for a very long time, "He'd have just saved me from something bad. I'd be in his arms, and I'd look up at him, and he'd look down at me, and then we'd share the most wonderful, most romantic kiss of all time. Then he'd tell me how much he loved me, and how he'd been pining over me for years. Then we'd kiss again, and I'd tell him that I loved him as well." The two girls sighed dreamily and laid back on the bed.  
  
  
  
"That'd be dreamy, 'Mione," mooned Ginny.  
  
  
  
"I wish that would happen," sighed Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Doesn't every girl…," Ginny added.  
  
  
  
Another knock on the door, and Calista sauntered into the room.  
  
  
  
"Hey Calista."  
  
  
  
"Hi Calista."  
  
  
  
"Hey guys. You bored?" She joined them on the bed.  
  
  
  
"We're mooning over boys," answered Ginny with a grin.  
  
  
  
"Harry's quite the person to moon over, isn't he? You're a lucky girl, Gin," said Calista.  
  
  
  
Ginny smiled and nodded exuberantly. "Like you Americans say, "He's a major hottie."  
  
  
  
They laughed, and for a moment Hermione thought fondly of Ron.  
  
  
  
"So anyway, I'm bored. Want to play a game?" asked Calista expectantly.  
  
  
  
Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances. "A game?"  
  
  
  
"Truth or Dare! I love that game!" exclaimed Calista excitedly.  
  
  
  
"Oh, that is the BEST game!" piped in Ginny. She bounced on the bed.  
  
  
  
"How do you play?" asked Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Well, everybody gets in a circle. The first person asks a person of their choice "Truth or Dare?" and the other person has to either answer a private question- they can't lie- or do whatever dare the first person makes up. Then after their turn is over, the second person gets to do the same thing to whatever person they choose."  
  
  
  
"Sounds interesting," commented Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Let's go get the boys!" exclaimed Ginny. The three girls scampered down the stairs, where Ron was still watching the soccer game. Hermione yanked him off the couch while Ginny ran outside to get Harry.  
  
  
  
"So where are we going to play?" asked Ron after Hermione had told him about the girl's plans.  
  
  
  
"Umm…how 'bout in one of the empty guest rooms?" offered Calista.  
  
  
  
"That's fine," said Hermione. Harry walked through the front door carrying Ginny, who greatly resembled a blushing bride.  
  
  
  
"This game sounds rather interesting," he said with a bright smile.  
  
  
  
"That's what I said. Come on, let's go play."  
  
  
  
The five teens clamored up the stairs. 


End file.
